Image capture control apparatus, display control apparatus, and control method therefor to track a target and to determine an autofocus position

ABSTRACT

An image capture control apparatus comprises a touch detector being capable of detecting a touch operation, a tracking unit that tracks a tracking target in a live view image captured by an image capturing unit, and a display control unit that, in response to the touch detector detecting a movement operation of moving a touch position, carries out control to display an indicator at a position, in a display, that is based on a movement amount of the movement operation, and a control unit configured to, in response to a predetermined amount of time elapsing after the touch for making the movement operation has been released, carry out control such that a tracking target determined on the basis of the position of the indicator is tracked by the tracking unit.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 16/284,314,filed Feb. 25, 2019, which is a Continuation of International PatentApplication No. PCT/JP2017/022254, filed Jun. 16, 2017, which claims thebenefit of Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2016-169621, 2016-169622 and2016-170064 filed Aug. 31, 2016, all of which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to control techniques that make itpossible to change focus positions through touch operations.

Background Art

Recent image capturing apparatuses such as digital cameras includeapparatuses in which images can be shot while easily moving an autofocusposition (AF position) by making a touch operation on a display screen.However, when shooting an image while looking through a traditionalviewfinder (viewfinder-based shooting), most digital cameras allow theAF position to be designated only using physical operation means such asbuttons or dials, and changing the AF position easily through touchoperations has not been possible.

Against such a background, Patent Document 1 proposes a technique inwhich touch operations can be made on a touch panel provided separatelyfrom a viewfinder when looking through the viewfinder (touch padoperations). As methods for designating an AF position through touchoperations, Patent Document 1 proposes an absolute coordinate method, inwhich coordinates of the touch panel and the viewfinder correspondone-to-one, and a relative coordinate method, in which the AF positionis moved in accordance with the amount of movement in a touch-move(sliding) operation made on the touch panel.

On the other hand, image capturing apparatuses are known in which anelectronic viewfinder (EVF) is activated when a proximity sensor such asan infrared sensor has detected that an eye is nearby, and the EVF isdeactivated and a display separate from the viewfinder is switched towhen the proximity sensor has detected that the eye has moved away.Patent Document 2 proposes keeping the display in a viewfinder activeeven if a user who is looking through the viewfinder moves his or hereye away accidentally, as long as it is for a short amount of time.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

-   PTL 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-089973-   PTL 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2014-209712

However, according to Patent Document 1, in the relative coordinatemethod, a user sets the position of a cursor (an AF frame) as the AFposition by moving the cursor indicating the AF position to a desiredobject and then making another touch-down operation, which means thereis an increased burden in terms of the operations leading up to the AFposition being set. In response to such a problem, the operationalburden can be lightened by setting the object in response to a touch-upoperation made after the cursor has been moved. However, with therelative coordinate method, it is conceivable that several touch-move(touch-up) operations will be made while moving the AF frame to adesired object, and starting to track an object immediately after atouch-up operation results in poor operability.

Meanwhile, if, in an object tracking mode, AF is carried out at theposition of a target cursor for tracking a target midway through movingthe target cursor using a touch-move (sliding) operation, an object atthe position of the target cursor midway through the movement (e.g., thebackground) will be focused on. In this case, it is possible that theobject to be tracked, which is present at a target position to which thetarget cursor is moved, will not be focused on, and the object to betracked will cease being detected. With respect to this problem, PatentDocument 1 does not factor in AF control carried out while moving acursor in an EVF screen through a touch-move operation.

Furthermore, with Patent Document 1, if the user accidentally takes hisor her eye away from the viewfinder midway through the touch operation,the operation format of the touch operation will change unintentionally,and the touch operation that had been carried out while looking throughthe viewfinder will be unintentionally terminated. Patent Document 2,meanwhile, does not factor in carrying out a touch operation when adisplay is active in the viewfinder while a user's eye is at theviewfinder. Setting touch operations aside, there are also situationswhere the user mistakenly takes his or her eye away from the viewfinderto perform some operation, which unintentionally terminates theoperation the user had been carrying out while looking through theviewfinder.

Having been achieved in light of such issues, an object of the presentinvention is to realize a technique that reduces the burden ofoperations and improves the convenience when selecting a tracking targetthrough a touch operation.

The present invention also realizes a technique that more appropriatelycontrols AF, and thus improves the convenience, when selecting atracking target through a touch operation.

Furthermore, the present invention realizes a technique that makes itpossible to continue an operation being carried out while lookingthrough a viewfinder, even if a user mistakenly removes his or her eyefrom the viewfinder midway through the operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To solve the aforementioned problems and achieve the object, an imagecapture control apparatus comprising: a touch detector configured to becapable of detecting a touch operation; and a memory and at least oneprocessor and/or at least one circuit to perform operations of thefollowing units: a tracking unit configured to track a tracking targetin a live view image captured by an image capturing unit; a displaycontrol unit configured to, in response to the touch detector detectinga movement operation of moving a touch position, carry out control todisplay an indicator at a position, in a display, that is based on amovement amount of the movement operation; and a control unit configuredto, in response to a predetermined amount of time elapsing after thetouch for making the movement operation has been released, carry outcontrol such that a tracking target determined on the basis of theposition of the indicator is tracked by the tracking unit.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The appended drawings, which are included in and constitute part of thespecification, illustrate embodiments of the present invention, andalong with those descriptions serve to illustrate the principles of thepresent invention.

FIG. 1 is an exterior view of a rear of a digital camera.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the digitalcamera.

FIG. 3A is a flowchart illustrating a shooting mode process.

FIG. 3B is a flowchart illustrating the shooting mode process.

FIG. 3C is a flowchart illustrating the shooting mode process.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an AF frame display updating process.

FIG. 5A is a flowchart illustrating a display destination switchingprocess.

FIG. 5B is a flowchart illustrating the display destination switchingprocess.

FIG. 6A is a flowchart illustrating a touch-down process.

FIG. 6B is a flowchart illustrating the touch-down process.

FIG. 6C is a flowchart illustrating the touch-down process.

FIG. 7A is a flowchart illustrating a touch-move process.

FIG. 7B is a flowchart illustrating the touch-move process.

FIG. 8A is a flowchart illustrating a touch-up process.

FIG. 8B is a flowchart illustrating the touch-up process.

FIG. 9A is a flowchart illustrating a touch cancel process.

FIG. 9B is a flowchart illustrating the touch cancel process.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a frame button process.

FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen in ashooting mode.

FIG. 11B is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen in ashooting mode.

FIG. 11C is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen in ashooting mode.

FIG. 11D is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen in ashooting mode.

FIG. 11E is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen in ashooting mode.

FIG. 11F is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen in ashooting mode.

FIG. 12A is a diagram illustrating an example of the display of a menuscreen.

FIG. 12B is a diagram illustrating an example of the display of a menuscreen.

FIG. 12C is a diagram illustrating an example of the display of a menuscreen.

FIG. 13A is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayprovided by a touch & drag AF function.

FIG. 13B is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayprovided by the touch & drag AF function.

FIG. 13C is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayprovided by the touch & drag AF function.

FIG. 13D1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayprovided by the touch & drag AF function.

FIG. 13D2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayprovided by the touch & drag AF function.

FIG. 13E1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayprovided by the touch & drag AF function.

FIG. 13E2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayprovided by the touch & drag AF function.

FIG. 13F1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayprovided by the touch & drag AF function.

FIG. 13F2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayprovided by the touch & drag AF function.

FIG. 14A is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayprovided by a touch & drag AF function.

FIG. 14B is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayprovided by the touch & drag AF function.

FIG. 14C1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayprovided by the touch & drag AF function.

FIG. 14C2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayprovided by the touch & drag AF function.

FIG. 14D1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayprovided by the touch & drag AF function.

FIG. 14D2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayprovided by the touch & drag AF function.

FIG. 14E1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayprovided by the touch & drag AF function.

FIG. 14E2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayprovided by the touch & drag AF function.

FIG. 14F is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayprovided by the touch & drag AF function.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the appended drawings.

Apparatus Configuration

The functions and external appearance of a digital camera according tothe present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and2.

In FIG. 1, which illustrates the external appearance of a rear of adigital camera 100 according to the present embodiment, a display unit101 is constituted by a liquid crystal display panel (LCD) that displaysimages, various types of information, and the like. The display unit 101includes a rear display panel 101 a, which is a display unit arrangedoutside of a viewfinder, and an electronic viewfinder (“EVF”hereinafter) 101 b, which is a display unit within the viewfinder. Withthe EVF 101 b, a user can monitor (visible) an image capturing screenthrough an eyepiece part of a look-through type eyepiece viewfinder. Ashutter button 102 is an operation member for making a shootinginstruction. A mode switching button 103 is an operation member forswitching among various types of modes. A connector 107 is an interfacefor connecting a connection cable 108 to the digital camera 100.Operation units 104 are operation units constituted by operation memberssuch as various types of switches and buttons and a touch panel whichaccept various types of operations from the user. A controller wheel 106is an electronic dial, included in the operation unit 104, that can berotated. A power switch 105 is an operating member for switching thepower on and off. A recording medium 109 is a recording medium such as amemory card, a hard disk, or the like. A recording medium slot 110 is aslot for holding the recording medium 109. The recording medium 109 heldin the recording medium slot 110 can communicate with the digital camera100. A cover 111 is a cover for the recording medium slot 110. FIG. 1illustrates a state in which the cover 111 is open, and the recordingmedium 109 has been partially removed and is exposed from the recordingmedium slot 110.

In FIG. 2, which illustrates the internal configuration of the digitalcamera 100 according to the present embodiment, a photographing lens 203is a lens group including a zoom lens and a focus lens. A shutter 204has an aperture function. An image capture unit 205 is an image sensorconstituted by a CCD, a CMOS, or the like that converts an optical imageof an object into an electrical signal. An A/D converter 206 convertsanalog signals into digital signals. The A/D converter 206 is used toconvert analog signals output from the image capture unit 205 intodigital signals. A barrier 202 prevents an image capture system of thedigital camera 100 including the photographing lens 203, the shutter204, and the image capture unit 205 from being soiled or damaged bycovering the image capture system including the photographing lens 203.

An image processing unit 207 carries out predetermined pixelinterpolation, resizing processing such as reduction, color conversionprocessing, and the like on data from the A/D converter 206 or data froma memory control unit 209. The image processing unit 207 also performspredetermined computational processing using captured image data, and asystem control unit 201 performs exposure control and range-findingcontrol based on results obtained from these computations. A TTL(through-the-lens) AF (autofocus) process, an AE (automatic exposure)process, and an EF (flash pre-emission) process are realized as aresult. The image processing unit 207 also performs predeterminedcomputational processes using the captured image data, performing a TTLAWB (auto white balance) process on the basis of the obtainedcomputation results.

Data output from the A/D converter 206 is written directly into memory210 through the image processing unit 207 and the memory control unit209, or through the memory control unit 209. The memory 210 stores theimage data obtained by the image capture unit 205 and converted intodigital data by the A/D converter 206, image data for display in thedisplay unit 101, and the like. The memory 210 has a storage capacitysufficient to store a predetermined number of still images, apredetermined time's worth of moving images and audio, and so on.

The memory 210 also functions as image display memory (video memory). AD/A converter 208 converts data for image display, stored in the memory210, into an analog signal and supplies the analog signal to the displayunit 101 image data for display written into the memory 210 thusdisplayed by the display unit 101 via the D/A converter 208 in thismanner. The display unit 101 carries out a display in the displaydevice, which is an LCD or the like, based on the analog signal from theD/A converter 208. A digital signal subjected to A/D conversion by theA/D converter 206 and stored in the memory 210 is converted to an analogsignal by the D/A converter 208, and is then sequentially transferred toand displayed in the display unit 101, thus realizing a live view imagedisplay.

Non-volatile memory 213 is electrically erasable/recordable memory, andEEPROM is used, for example. Operational constants, programs, and so onof the system control unit 201 are stored in the non-volatile memory213. Here, “programs” refers to programs for executing the variousflowcharts according to the present embodiment, which will be describedlater.

The system control unit 201 controls the entire digital camera 100. Therespective processes according to the present embodiment, which will bementioned later, are realized by executing programs stored in thenon-volatile memory 213 mentioned above. 212 indicates system memory,and RAM is used for the system memory. Operational constants andvariables for the system control unit 201, programs read from thenon-volatile memory 213, and so on are loaded into the system memory212. The system control unit 201 also carries out display control bycontrolling the memory 210, the D/A converter 208, the display unit 101,and so on.

A system timer 211 is a time measurement unit that measures times usedin various types of control, measures the time of an internal clock, andso on.

The mode switching button 103, a first shutter switch 102 a, a secondshutter switch 102 b, and the operation unit 104 are operation means forinputting various types of operating instructions to the system controlunit 201.

The mode switching button 103 switches an operating mode of the systemcontrol unit 201 among a still image shooting mode, a moving imagerecording mode, a playback mode, and so on. Examples of modes includedin the still image shooting mode are an auto mode, an auto scenedetermination mode, a manual mode, various types of scene modes in whichshooting settings are configured for each type of scene, a program AEmode, a custom mode, and so on. Any one of these modes can be switchedto directly using the mode switching button 103. Alternatively, the modeswitching button 103 may be used to switch to a shooting mode selectionscreen, and the mode may then be switched by using another operationmember to select any one of options which are displayed in the shootingmode selection screen and which correspond to the respective shootingmodes. Likewise, the moving image recording mode may include a pluralityof modes.

The first shutter switch 102 a switches on partway through themanipulation of the shutter button 102 provided in the digital camera100, or in other words, when the button is depressed halfway (a shootingpreparation instruction), and produces a first shutter switch signalSW1. Shooting preparation processes, such as an AF process, an AEprocess, an AWB process, and an EF process, are started in response tothe first shutter switch signal SW1.

The second shutter switch 102 b turns on when the shutter button 102 iscompletely manipulated, or in other words, is fully depressed (ashooting instruction), and produces a second shutter switch signal SW2.The system control unit 201 commences a series of shooting processes,from reading out signals from the image capture unit 205 to writingimage data into the recording medium 109, in response to the secondshutter switch signal SW2.

Functions relevant for different scenes are assigned to the operationmembers of the operation unit 104, which then act as various types offunction buttons, by making an operation for selecting various types offunction icons displayed in the display unit 101. An end button, areturn button, a next image button, a jump button, a sort button, anattribute change button, and so on are examples of the function buttons.For example, a menu screen in which various types of settings can bemade is displayed in the display unit 101 when a menu button is pressed.A user can make various types of settings intuitively using the menuscreen displayed in the display unit 101, along with up, down, left, andright directional buttons, a set button, and so on.

The controller wheel 106 is an operation member, included in theoperation unit 104, that can be rotationally manipulated, and is usedalong with the directional buttons when specifying items to be selectedand so on.

A power control unit 214 is constituted by a battery detection circuit,a DC-DC converter, switch circuits for switching the blocks throughwhich power elapses, and so on, and detects whether or not a battery isconnected, the type of the battery, the remaining battery power, and soon. The power control unit 214 also controls the DC-DC converter basedon the detection results and instructions from the system control unit201, and supplies a necessary voltage for a necessary period to thevarious units, including the recording medium 109.

A power source unit 215 is a primary battery such as an alkalinebattery, a lithium battery, or the like, a secondary battery such as aNiCd battery, a NiMH battery, a lithium-ion battery, or the like, an ACadapter, or the like. A recording medium I/F 216 is an interface for therecording medium 109 such as a memory card, a hard disk, or the like.The recording medium 109 is a recording medium for recording shotimages, such as a memory card or the like, and is constituted by asemiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, or the like.

A communication unit 217 communicatively connects to an external deviceusing a wireless antenna, a hard-wire cable, or the like, and exchangesvideo, audio, and so on. The communication unit 217 can also connect toa wireless LAN (local area network), the Internet, and so on. Thecommunication unit 217 can send image data captured by the image captureunit 205 (including live view images), image files recorded into therecording medium 109, and so on to the external device, and can receiveimage data, various other types of information, and so on from theexternal device.

An attitude detection unit 218 detects the attitude of the digitalcamera 100 relative to the gravitational direction. Whether an imagecaptured by the image capture unit 205 was shot with the digital camera100 held horizontally or shot with the digital camera 100 heldvertically can be determined in accordance with the attitude detected bythe attitude detection unit 218. The system control unit 201 can addinformation pertaining to the attitude detected by the attitudedetection unit 218 to image data captured by the image capture unit 205,rotate and store the image data on the basis of that information, and soon. An accelerometer, a gyrosensor, or the like can be used as theattitude detection unit.

An eye proximity detection unit 219 detects whether an eye (an object)has approached (eye proximity) or has moved away from (eyenon-proximity) the eyepiece part of the viewfinder (proximitydetection). The system control unit 201 switches the rear display panel101 a and the EVF 101 b between displaying (a display state)/notdisplaying (a non-display state) in accordance with the state detectedby the eye proximity detection unit 219. For example, the eye proximitydetection unit 219 can use an infrared proximity sensor, and cantherefore detect when an object is in the proximity of the eyepiece partof the viewfinder that includes the EVF 101 b. When an object is in theproximity, infrared rays emitted from a light-emitting unit (notillustrated) of the eye proximity detection unit 219 are reflected andreceived by a light-receiving unit (not illustrated) of the infraredproximity sensor. The distance of the object from the eyepiece part (aneye proximity distance) can also be determined on the basis of theamount of infrared light that has been received. In this manner, the eyeproximity detection unit 219 carries out eye proximity detection, inwhich the distance of an object in the proximity of the eyepiece part isdetected. When, in an eye non-proximate state (a non-proximate state),an object has been detected within a predetermined distance from theeyepiece part of the viewfinder, it is determined that eye proximity hasbeen detected. When, in the eye-proximate state (a proximate state), theobject that had been detected as being in the proximity moves away bygreater than or equal to a predetermined distance, it is determined thateye non-proximity has been detected. A threshold for detecting eyeproximity and a threshold for detecting eye non-proximity may differ by,for example, applying hysteresis. Additionally, after eye proximity hasbeen detected, the eye-proximate state is considered to be in effectuntil eye non-proximity has been detected. Additionally, after eyenon-proximity has been detected, the eye non-proximate state isconsidered to be in effect until eye proximity is detected. Note thatthe infrared proximity sensor is an example, and another sensor may beemployed as the eye proximity detection unit 219 as long as that sensoris capable of detecting that an eye or an object is nearby to indicateeye proximity.

A touch panel 104 a capable of detecting contact with the rear displaypanel 101 a is included as part of the operation unit 104. The touchpanel 104 a and the rear display panel 101 a can be configured as anintegrated unit. For example, the touch panel 104 a is configured havinga light transmittance that does not interfere with the display of therear display panel 101 a, and is then attached to the top layer of thedisplay surface of the rear display panel 101 a. Input coordinates ofthe touch panel 104 a are then associated with display coordinates ofthe rear display panel 101 a. This makes it possible to configure a GUI(graphical user interface) in which the user seems capable of directlymanipulating the screen displayed in the rear display panel 101 a. Inother words, a touch detection surface of the touch panel 104 a servesas the display surface of the rear display panel 101 a. An in-cell touchpanel display, in which the display element of the rear display panel101 a and an electrostatic capacitance-type touch detection (touchsensing) electrode are configured integrally without a separatorinterposed therebetween, may be used as well. The system control unit201 can detect the following operations or states with respect to thetouch panel 104 a.

-   -   When a finger or pen that had not been touching the touch panel        104 a newly touches the touch panel 104 a. In other words, this        is the start of a touch (called “touch-down” hereinafter).    -   When a finger or pen is touching the touch panel 104 a (called        “touch-on” hereinafter).    -   When a finger or pen is moved while touching the touch panel 104        a (called “touch-move” hereinafter).    -   When a finger or pen that had been touching the touch panel 104        a is released. In other words, this is the end of a touch        (called “touch-up” hereinafter).    -   When nothing is touching the touch panel 104 a (called        “touch-off” hereinafter).

When a touch-down is detected, a touch-on is detected at the same time.A touch-on normally continues to be detected after a touch-down as longas no touch-up is detected. A touch-move being detected is also a statein which a touch-on is detected. Even if a touch-on is detected, atouch-move is not detected as long as the touched position does notmove. A touch-off occurs after a touch-up has been detected for allfingers or pens that had been touching.

These operations/states, positional coordinates on the touch panel 104 awhere the finger or pen had been touching, and so on are communicated tothe system control unit 201 through an internal bus. The system controlunit 201 determines what type of operation (touch operation) has beenmade on the touch panel 104 a on the basis of the communicatedinformation. With respect to a touch-move, the movement direction of thefinger or pen moving on the touch panel 104 a can be determined on thebasis of changes in the positional coordinates, for each of a verticalcomponent and a horizontal component on the touch panel 104 a. A slideoperation is determined to have been carried out if a touch-move ofgreater than or equal to a predetermined distance has been detected. If,while touching the touch panel, the finger or pen is quickly moved agiven distance and then released, the operation is called “flicking”. Inother words, a “flick” is an operation of quickly flicking a finger onthe touch panel 104 a. A flick can be determined to have been carriedout if a touch-move of greater than or equal to a predetermined distanceand at greater than or equal to a predetermined speed is detected and atouch-up is then detected. Additionally, a drag is determined to havebeen carried out if a touch-move of greater than or equal to apredetermined distance and less than a predetermined speed has beendetected, whereas a touch-down on the touch panel 104 a quickly followedby a touch-up without a touch-move is called a “tap”. Two taps executedin quick succession is called a “double tap”. Furthermore, when aplurality of locations (two points, for example) are touched at the sametime, and the touched positions are brought together, the touchoperation is called a “pinch-in”, whereas when the touched positions aremoved apart, the touch operation is called a “pinch-out”. Pinch-out andpinch-in are collectively referred to as pinch operations (or simply“pinching”).

Any of a variety of types of touch panels, such as resistive film,electrostatic capacitance, surface elastic wave, infrared,electromagnetic induction, image recognition, and photodetector, may beused as the touch panel 104 a. Depending on the type, a touch isdetected when contact is made with the touch panel, or a touch isdetected when a finger or pen has approached the touch panel, and eitherof these types may be used.

Note that the hardware configuration is not limited to that illustratedin FIG. 2; for example, a single piece of hardware may carry out displaycontrol, communication control, shooting control, image processingcontrol, and so on, and function as the various units of the digitalcamera 100. Likewise, a plurality of pieces of hardware may operate intandem to function as a single unit.

The digital camera 100 is capable of switching between and using atleast a playback mode, in which images are played back, and a shootingmode, which is used for shooting. The shooting mode includes an automode, a manual mode, and a plurality of scene-specific shooting modes.The auto mode is a mode in which various types of camera parameters areautomatically set by a program incorporated into the digital camera 100,on the basis of a measured exposure value. The manual mode is a mode inwhich the user can freely change the various types of camera parameters.The scene-specific shooting modes are modes realized by combining ashutter speed, aperture value, flash emission state, sensitivitysetting, white balance (WB) setting, and so on suited to a givenshooting scene, for each of such shooting scenes. The digital camera 100includes the following scene-specific shooting modes (1) to (3), forexample. However, the scene-specific shooting modes are not limited tothese modes.

(1) Portrait shooting mode: a mode specialized for shooting a person, inwhich the background is blurred so that the person stands out.

(2) Flower shooting mode: a mode that sets a macro mode and sets ahigher saturation.

(3) Sports shooting mode: a shooting mode using settings specialized forshooting quickly-moving objects.

A shooter can set the digital camera 100 to a desired shooting mode fromthe shooting mode selection screen and take a shot.

The present invention is not limited to a camera body, and can also beapplied in a control apparatus that communicates with an image capturingapparatus (including a network camera) through wired or wirelesscommunication and remotely controls the image capturing apparatus.Apparatuses such as a smartphone, which is a type of mobile phone, atablet PC, a desktop PC, and the like can be given as examples ofcontrol apparatuses that remotely control an image capturing apparatus.The image capturing apparatus can be controlled remotely by the controlapparatus communicating commands for carrying out various types ofoperations, settings to the image capturing apparatus, and the like onthe basis of operations made in the control apparatus, processes carriedout by the control apparatus, and the like. Additionally, a live viewimage shot by the image capturing apparatus may be received by thecontrol apparatus through wired or wireless communication and displayed.

Shooting Process

The shooting modes of the digital camera 100 according to the presentembodiment will be described next with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3C and11A to 11F.

Note that the processing illustrated in FIGS. 3A to 3C is realized bythe system control unit 201 reading out a program recorded in thenon-volatile memory 213 into the system memory 212 and executing thatprogram. When the digital camera 100 is started up in the shooting mode,the shooting mode process illustrated in FIGS. 3A to 3C is started.

In S301, the system control unit 201 carries out a shooting modeinitialization process. The initialization process is a process forreading out parameters including flags and control variables, settingvalues, setting modes, and the like from the non-volatile memory 213.Additionally, the system control unit 201 determines the state of therecording medium 109, and if there is a malfunction or the like,displays a warning or the like during a shooting information display,which will be described later.

In S302, the system control unit 201 captures an image using the imagecapture unit 205, and displays the captured image as a live view image(“LV image” hereinafter) in whichever of the rear display panel 101 aand the EVF 101 b, included in the display unit 101, is the currentdisplay destination. Hereinafter, a display made in whichever of therear display panel 101 a and the EVF 101 b, included in the display unit101, is the current display destination, will simply be referred to as“displaying in the display unit 101”.

In S303, the system control unit 201 displays information pertaining tothe shooting in the display unit 101, superimposed on the LV image. Forexample, a shooting mode icon indicating the current shooting mode, theremaining battery power, the remaining number of shots that can betaken, shooting setting information such as the shutter speed, aperturevalue, sensitivity, and recording quality, and the like are displayed asthe information displayed here.

In S304, the system control unit 201 carries out an AF frame displayupdating process (display content change). The AF frame display updatingprocess will be described later using FIG. 4.

In S305, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not there hasbeen a change in the detection state of the eye proximity detection unit219. A change in the detection state refers to an eye being detected asapproaching after an eye non-proximate state, and an eye being detectedas moving away after an eye-proximate state. The process moves to S306if there has been a change in the detection state, and moves to S307 ifthere has been no change.

In S306, the system control unit 201 carries out a display destinationswitching process. The display destination switching process will bedescribed later using FIGS. 5A and 5B.

In S307, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not the menubutton included in the operation unit 104 has been pressed. The processmoves to S308 if the menu button has been pressed, and moves to S309 ifsuch is not the case.

In S308, the system control unit 201 carries out a menu screen displayprocess. In the menu screen display process, the menu screen isdisplayed in the display unit 101, and various types of settings aremade in response to user operations. When an operation for closing themenu screen (an operation for ending the setting operations, anoperation for exiting the menu screen, or an operation of pressing theshutter button 102 halfway) has been made, the menu screen process isended, and the processing returns to S302.

FIGS. 12A to 12C are diagrams illustrating examples of the display ofthe menu screen. FIG. 12A is an example of the display of a shootingsettings menu screen. The menu screen is divided into groups on thebasis of functions, such as a shooting settings menu, a system settingsmenu, a playback settings menu, and so on, and selecting a tabcorresponding to a group makes it possible to display that correspondinggroup. FIG. 12A illustrates a state in which a shooting settings menutab 1201 is selected and the shooting settings menu is displayed. Theuser moves a cursor 1204 by pressing the up, down, left, and rightbuttons included in the operation unit 104, and then transitions to ascreen for changing the settings of a desired function by pressing theset button. A menu item 1202 is a menu item for setting the AF mode, andthe AF mode can be set by selecting this item (AF mode settings). Aplurality of AF modes are prepared for each of systems for determining aposition at which to carry out AF (autofocus), and the user can selectand set one of the plurality of AF modes. The present embodiment assumesthat a single-point AF mode and a tracking mode can be set as the AFmode. The single-point AF mode is an AF mode in which an AF frameexpressing a focus adjustment position is set in the center of theshooting range or at a single point designated by the user. In thesingle-point AF mode, the AF frame does not move even if the objectchanges, and the AF is carried out on the basis of information obtainedfrom the position of the AF frame (a contrast value, a defocus amountfor phase difference-based AF, and the like) regardless of whether ornot an object such as a face has been detected. In the tracking mode, ifthe user has not instructed tracking to be carried out (a trackingstandby or tracking canceled state), an object automatically determinedby the digital camera 100 to be a primary object is used as the targetfor AF (the focus adjustment position). If a person's face has beendetected, the face is handled as the primary object and ispreferentially targeted for AF. If a person's face has not beendetected, the digital camera 100 automatically determines the primaryobject in accordance with predetermined conditions, such as objectmovement, an object having a high contrast value, an object near thecenter, and so on, and sets that object as the target for AF. After theuser has instructed tracking to be carried out, and object designated inthe LV image continues to be tracked, and the object being tracked istargeted for AF. For example, if the user has designated the face of aperson A to be tracked (with tracking underway), the face of the personA continues to be tracked in the LV image even if the person A hasmoved, and the face of the person A is targeted for AF. An object asidefrom a person can also be used as the tracking target (object tracking),so that even if the object has moved, the object continues to be trackedin the LV image in accordance with conditions such as the color,contrast, shape, and so on of a position designated for tracking, andthat object is targeted for AF. In other words, the tracking mode is anAF mode in which the AF position can be determined through tracking.Note that the AF modes are not limited to the single-point AF mode andthe tracking mode. For example, an AF mode in which tracking is carriedout within a limited region designated by the user (“zone AF”) or thelike may be used. The set AF mode is stored in the non-volatile memory213, and is read out into the system memory 212 during the shooting modeprocess.

FIG. 12B is an example of the display of a settings screen pertaining totouch & drag AF, displayed in the display unit 101. The touch & drag AFsettings screen is displayed when a touch & drag AF item is selectedfrom among the menu items included in the shooting settings menu. Ascreen title 1211 and settings items 1212, 1213, and 1214 are displayedin the touch & drag AF settings screen.

The settings item 1212 can be used to set the touch & drag AF to“active” or “inactive”. If “active” is set, the touch & drag AF isactivated (on), and the AF position can be changed in response to atouch-move made while in the eye-proximate state. If “inactive” is set,the touch & drag AF is deactivated (off), and the AF position does notchange even if a touch-move is made while in the eye-proximate state. Ifthe touch & drag AF is set to “inactive”, touch detection in the touchpanel 104 a may be stopped in response to eye proximity being detectedin order to eliminate power consumption for driving the touch panel 104a. The details that have been set are stored in the non-volatile memory213, and are read out into the system memory 212 during the shootingmode process.

The settings item 1213 can be used, when the touch & drag AF is“active”, to set a method for designating the AF position in response toa touch operation while eye proximity is being detected to absoluteposition designation or relative position designation. The default valueis “absolute position designation”. With absolute position designation,positional coordinates within the operation surface of the touch panel104 a are uniquely associated with an AF-capable region within theshooting range, and when the touch panel 104 a is touched, the AFposition is set to the position, within the shooting range, that isassociated with the position that has been touched. Accordingly, if, forexample, the user wishes to use the position of an object appearing inthe lower-right of the LV image as the AF position, he or she can setthe AF position to the lower-right by touching a lower-right position inthe touch panel 104 a. On the other hand, with relative positiondesignation, the positional coordinates within the operation surface ofthe touch panel 104 a are not uniquely associated with the AF-capableregion within the shooting range. In relative position designation, whena touch-move is made in the touch panel 104 a, the AF position is movedfrom the currently-set AF position, in the movement direction of thetouch-move and by a distance corresponding to the amount of movement inthe touch-move, regardless of the touch-down position. This is anoperation similar to when a cursor is moved using a mouse with apersonal computer. The details that have been set are stored in thenon-volatile memory 213, and are read out into the system memory 212during the shooting mode process.

The settings item 1214 can be used, when the touch & drag AF is set to“active”, to set a range of a touch region, in the touch panel 104 a,for accepting touch operations while eye proximity is being detected (atouch response region). In touch & drag AF, touch operations are madewhile viewing the EVF 101 b, and there is thus a chance that the user'snose, for example, will touch the touch panel 104 a. If the nosetouching in this manner is accepted as an operation instructing thetouch position to be moved, the AF position will move to an undesiredposition. To prevent this from happening, means for limiting the touchresponse region are provided. If the nose touches a region that is notthe touch response region, that touch will not be accepted as anoperation for moving the touch position, which makes it possible toprevent the AF position from moving to an undesired position in responseto the nose touching. When the settings item 1214 is selected, theadvanced settings screen illustrated in FIG. 12C is displayed. Theadvanced settings screen displays options for enabling the user toselect which region of the touch panel 104 a is to be used as the touchresponse region. The region selected from among these options is set asthe touch response region in the eye-proximate state, and the regionsaside from the region set as the touch response region aretouch-inactive regions in the eye-proximate state. Although the optionsthat can be set as the touch response region are “all”, “right”, “left”,“upper-right”, “lower-right”, “upper-left”, and “lower-left” in thisexample, the options are not limited thereto. Note that the setting ofthe touch response region is a setting that is applied in theeye-proximate state in the case where touch & drag AF is set to“active”. The entire touch panel 104 a is a touch-inactive region(unresponsive region) when touch & drag AF is set to “inactive” in theeye-proximate state, regardless of the setting of the settings item1214. In the eye non-proximate state, the entire touch panel 104 a is atouch-active region (responsive region), regardless of the touch & dragAF settings and the settings of the settings item 1214.

Returning to the descriptions of FIGS. 3A to 3C, in S309, the systemcontrol unit 201 determines whether or not a touch & drag AF buttonincluded in the operation unit 104 has been pressed. The process movesto S310 if the touch & drag AF button has been pressed, and moves toS311 if such is not the case.

In S310, the system control unit 201 switches the setting of theabove-described touch & drag AF to “active” or “inactive”, and displaysguidance indicating that the setting has been changed. In other words,the setting of the settings item 1212 can be changed without displayingthe settings screen illustrated in FIG. 12B, with the LV image remainingdisplayed instead. FIG. 11A illustrates an example of the display in thedisplay unit 101 in the case where the touch & drag AF setting has beenchanged from “inactive” to “active” in response to the touch & drag AFbutton being pressed. As illustrated in FIG. 11A, guidance 1132,indicating the touch & drag AF setting value, is displayed superimposedover an LV image 1131 (FIG. 11A indicates the guidance displayed whenthe touch & drag AF setting has been changed to “active”). The guidance1132 is hidden after a predetermined amount of time (e.g., two seconds)has elapsed. Note that the user can customize functions assigned to thetouch & drag AF button in advance, and can therefore also assign(register) functions aside from switching touch & drag AF to “active” or“inactive”. The process of S310 is not carried out if a function asidefrom switching touch & drag AF to “active” or “inactive” has beenassigned. The function assigned to the touch & drag AF button at thatpoint in time is assumed to be executed instead. An instruction to startrecording a moving image, switching the flash settings betweenfiring/not firing, switching a touch shutter, in which shooting isexecuted in response to a touch-down, on/off, an aperture narrowingfunction, and the like can be given as examples of functions that can beassigned to the touch & drag AF button. The “aperture narrowingfunction” is a function that allows the state of focus (the degree ofblurriness) to be determined when an image is shot at the set aperturevalue. When the aperture narrowing function is assigned, the aperturenarrowing function is active while the button is being pressed.

In S311, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not atouch-down has been detected. The process moves to S312 if a touch-downhas been detected, and moves to S313 if such is not the case. In S312,the system control unit 201 carries out a touch-down process. Thetouch-down process will be described later using FIGS. 6A to 6C.

In S313, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not atouch-move has been detected in a touch-on state. The process moves toS314 if a touch-move has been detected, and moves to S315 if such is notthe case (including a touch-off state). In S314, the system control unit201 carries out a touch-move process. The touch-move process will bedescribed later using FIGS. 7A and 7B.

In S315, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not atouch-up has been detected. The process moves to S316 if a touch-up hasbeen detected, and moves to S317 if such is not the case (including acase where a touch-off was originally in effect, and after a touch hasbeen canceled in the touch cancel process, which will be describedlater). In S316, the system control unit 201 carries out a touch-upprocess. The touch-up process will be described later using FIGS. 8A and8B.

In S317, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not a touchcancel operation has been detected. The process moves to S318 if thetouch cancel process has been carried out, and moves to S319 if thetouch cancel process has not been carried out. The “touch canceloperation” is an operation on a unit aside from the touch panel 104 aduring a touch-on state, for example (an operation on a unit, in theoperation unit 104, aside from the touch panel 104 a). When theoperation unit 104 is operated while in a touch-on state, the touch-onstate is canceled and the operation of the operation unit 104 isaccepted as valid. For example, when the shutter button 102 is pressedhalfway, the touch cancel process is carried out and the shootingpreparation process is started. In S318, the system control unit 201carries out the touch cancel process. The touch cancel process will bedescribed later using FIGS. 9A and 9B.

In S319, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not a framebutton included in the operation unit 104 has been pressed. The processmoves to S320 if the frame button has been pressed, and moves to S321 ifsuch is not the case. In S320, the system control unit 201 carries out aframe button process. The frame button process will be described laterusing FIG. 10.

In S321, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not the firstshutter switch 102 a and the second shutter switch 102 b have turned on.The process moves to S322 if the switches are turned on, and moves toS323 if such is not the case.

In S322, the system control unit 201 carries out the shootingpreparation process in accordance with the first shutter switch 102 abeing on (the shutter button 102 being pressed halfway) and a shootingprocess in accordance with the second shutter switch 102 b being on (theshutter button 102 being pressed fully). In the shooting preparationprocess of S322, processes such as AF, AE, AWB, and the like are carriedout through touch & drag AF and so on, on the basis of the AF positionset at that point in time.

In S323, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not ashooting mode ending operation (an operation for turning the power off,an operation for transitioning to the playback mode, or the like) hasbeen made. The process moves to S324 if the ending operation has notbeen made, and the system control unit 201 then carries out otherprocesses. A process for changing the shutter speed or the like inresponse to the operation unit 104 being operated is carried out, forexample. If an ending operation has been made in S323, the shooting modeprocess ends.

AF Frame Display Updating Process

The AF frame display updating process carried out in S304 of FIG. 3Awill be described in detail next using FIG. 4.

In S401, the system control unit 201 refers to the settings informationheld in the system memory 212, and determines whether or not the AF modeis single-point AF. The process moves to S402 if the AF mode issingle-point AF, and moves to S404 if such is not the case.

In S404, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not an objectis currently being tracked. The process moves to S405 if an object iscurrently being tracked, and moves to S406 if such is not the case.

In S402, the system control unit 201 displays a single-point AF frame inthe display unit 101. FIG. 11B illustrates an example of the display ofthe single-point AF frame. In FIG. 11B, a single-point AF frame 1134,and shooting information 1135 indicating shooting parameters, aredisplayed overlapping an LV image including an object 1133. The positionof the single-point AF frame 1134 can be moved to a position in the LVimage designated by the user by making an operation in the touch panel104 a, or by operating the up, down, left, and right buttons included inthe operation unit 104 while in a frame movement mode. The position ofthe single-point AF frame 1134 serves as the AF position in S403,described later.

In S405, the system control unit 201 displays the position of thetracking target, and a tracking frame indicating that the tracking isunderway, in the display unit 101. An example of the tracking framedisplay screen is illustrated in FIG. 11D. FIG. 11D illustrates a statein which an object 1137 is being tracked in a LV image. A tracking frame1138 is displayed in the periphery of the object being tracked, whichindicates that the object is being tracked. Even if the shooting rangeis changed by framing with the digital camera 100, the tracking frame1138 will continue to indicate the object 1137 as long as the object1137 is within the shooting range. The position of the tracking frame1138 serves as the AF position in S403, described later.

In S406, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not a face (aspecific object) has been detected from the LV image through a facialdetection process (a specific object detection process). The processmoves to S407 if a face has been detected, and moves to S408 if a facehas not been detected.

In S407, the system control unit 201 displays a detection frame(detection indicator), indicating the position of the detected face, inthe display unit 101. FIG. 11C illustrates an example of a detectionframe display screen. FIG. 11C illustrates a state in which a face 1133has been detected from the LV image. A detection frame 1136 is displayedin the periphery of the object being detected (the face), whichindicates that the face is being detected. Note that a plurality of thedetection frames 1136 may be displayed in accordance with the result ofdetecting the object. In other words, if a plurality of faces have beendetected, a plurality of the detection frames 1136 (facial frames) aredisplayed. Note that the face is assumed to be detectable by the imageprocessing unit 207 analyzing the LV image. Although the presentembodiment describes an example in which a face is detected as aspecific object that can be detected by the image processing unit 207,the object is not limited to a person's face, and the detection frame1136 may be displayed for another object automatically determined by thedigital camera 100 to be the primary object in the LV image. Forexample, if an object aside from a face, such as an animal's face, amoving object, a high-contrast object, or the like has been successfullydetected, the detection frame may be displayed to indicate the AFposition. Note that if a face has been detected, the face is basicallytreated as the primary object and given high priority. The position ofthe detection frame 1136 serves as the AF position in S403, describedlater.

In S407, the system control unit 201 hides the detection frame. In otherwords, if the detection frame had been displayed until immediatelybefore, the detection frame is removed, whereas if the detection framehad not been displayed until immediately before, the detection frameremains hidden.

In S408, the system control unit 201 updates a position where continuousAF is carried out to the current AF position, and carries out continuousAF. “Continuous AF” is a function for carrying out AF operationscontinuously in a shooting standby state, so that the AF position isautomatically brought into focus, even without the user makingoperations for executing AF.

Display Destination Switching Process

The display destination switching process carried out in S306 of FIG. 3Awill be described in detail next using FIGS. 5A and 5B.

In S501, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not a changein the state detected by the eye proximity detection unit 219 is achange from the eye non-proximate state to the eye-proximate state(i.e., whether or not eye proximity has been detected). The processmoves to S506 if the change was from the eye non-proximate state to theeye-proximate state, and moves to S502 if such is not the case.

In S506, the system control unit 201 switches the display destinationfrom the rear display panel 101 a to the EVF 101 b. In S506, the displaydestination is switched from the rear display panel 101 a to the EVF 101b immediately, even if a touch had been detected (touch-on) from beforethe change to the eye-proximate state (the detection of eye proximity),which was the cause of the display destination switch. On the otherhand, if a determination of “no” was made in S501 (when eyenon-proximity has been detected), the display destination is notimmediately switched if there has been a touch-on from before the changeto the eye-proximate state; this will be described later in S507.

In S508, the system control unit 201 refers to the settings informationheld in the system memory 212, and determines whether or not the AF modeis single-point AR The process moves to S515 if the AF mode issingle-point AF, and moves to S510 if such is not the case (if the AFmode is the tracking mode).

In S510, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not an objectdesignated by the user is currently being tracked. The process moves toS512 if it is determined that an object is being tracked, and moves toS515 if such is not the case.

In S512, the system control unit 201 displays a tracking cancel guide,indicating a tracking cancellation method, in the EVF 101 b. By viewingthis display, the user can cancel the object tracking as needed. Thetracking cancel guide is a message display, an icon display, or thelike. It is assumed that the tracking can be canceled by making a touchoperation on an icon serving as the tracking cancel guide (only when thedisplay destination is the rear display panel 101 a), operating a buttonincluded in the operation unit 104, or the like.

On the other hand, in S502, the system control unit 201 refers to thesettings information held in the system memory 212 and determineswhether or not the above-described touch & drag AF setting is “active”.The process moves to S503 if “active” is set, and moves to S507 if suchis not the case. In S503, the system control unit 201 determines whetheror not the current state is touch-on (whether or not a valid touch isbeing detected). The process moves to S504 if a touch-on is in effect,and moves to S507 if such is not the case.

In S504, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not an eyenon-proximate state has continued for a predetermined amount of time(e.g., has continued for two seconds) in the eye proximity detectionunit 219. The process moves to S505 if the state has continued for thepredetermined amount of time, and moves to S507 if such is not the case.

In S505, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not there hasbeen a change in the detection state of the eye proximity detection unit219. The state before the detection in S505 was the eye non-proximatestate, and thus the process of S505 is a determination as to whether ornot eye proximity has been detected. The process moves to S501 if therehas been a change (if eye proximity has been detected), whereas theprocess returns to S503 and the display in the EVF 101 b is continued ifthere has been no change (if the non eye-proximate state remains ineffect).

In S507, the system control unit 201 switches the display destinationfrom the EVF 101 b to the rear display panel 101 a. This displaydestination switch is not carried out immediately if a touch-on has beenin effect from before the change in the eye-proximate state (before eyenon-proximity has been detected), as described with reference to S503 toS505. Instead, the display destination switch is carried out iftouch-off was in effect when eye non-proximity was detected, and iftouch-on was in effect when eye non-proximity was detected (YES is S503)but an eye non-proximate state has continued for a predetermined amountof time (YES in S504) or touch-off is in effect (NO in S803) after eyenon-proximity was detected. The touch panel 104 a is calibrated (aninitialization process) when the switch to the rear display panel 101 ais made. With an electrostatic capacitance-type touch panel, thecalibration adjusts an electrostatic capacitance value or anelectrostatic capacitance threshold serving as a reference fordetermining whether or not a touch has been made. In an electrostaticcapacitance-type touch panel, if the calibration is carried out in astate where the panel is touched, there is a risk that erroneousdeterminations, skew, or the like will arise in the determination as towhether or not a touch has been made and/or the calculation of a touchedposition in the touch-on state. Meanwhile, an in-cell touch panel isconfigured so that a separator is not interposed between the displayelement and the touch detection electrode, and thus there is a risk ofinterference between the driving of the display element and the touchdetection. Accordingly, if the start of the display and the calibrationof the rear display panel 101 a are carried out at the same time whilethe panel is being touched, it is likely that erroneous determinations,skew, or the like will arise in the determination as to whether or not atouch has been made and/or the calculation of a touched position. Inresponse to this, in S507, if a touch-on has been in effect from beforethe change in the eye-proximate state (before eye non-proximity wasdetected), control is carried out so that calibration is not immediatelyexecuted, which makes it possible to carry out the calibration moreaccurately. Note that if the eye non-proximate state has continued for apredetermined amount of time following eye non-proximity (YES in S504),the display destination is switched from the EVF 101 b to the reardisplay panel 101 a, but it is possible to avoid carrying out thecalibration until touch-off is in effect. In this case, the calibrationis carried out once the touch-off is in effect. Note that if it isdetermined in S503 that a touch-on is not in effect but a designatedposition indicator (described later) is being displayed, the process maymove to S504 to suppress the switching of the display destination underthe assumption that a series of touch operations are midway throughbeing carried out.

In S509, the system control unit 201 refers to the settings informationheld in the system memory 212, and determines whether or not the AF modeis single-point AR The process moves to S515 if the AF mode issingle-point AF, and moves to S511 if such is not the case (if the AFmode is the tracking mode).

In S511, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not adesignated position indicator (described in detail later) is currentlybeing displayed. The process ends if the indicator is being displayed,and moves to S513 if such is not the case.

In S513, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not thetracking cancel guide is being displayed in the EVF 101 b. The processmoves to S514 if the guide is being displayed, and moves to S515 if suchis not the case.

In S514, the system control unit 201 displays the tracking cancel guidein the rear display panel 101 a. The tracking cancel guide is the sameas that described with reference to S512.

In S515, the system control unit 201 carries out the AF frame displayupdating process. This process is the process described with referenceto FIG. 4. Once the AF frame display updating process is carried out,the display destination switching process ends.

As described above, if the user is carrying out a touch operation usingthe touch panel 104 a, the display destination is not switched even ifthe eye proximity detection unit 219 has detected eye non-proximity(S501 to S507). However, if no touch operation is being carried out, thedisplay destination is switched, without waiting for the predeterminedamount of time, if the eye proximity detection unit 219 has detected eyenon-proximity (S501 to S506).

Touch & drag AF is a function for operating the touch panel 104 a whileviewing the rear display panel 101 a. There are cases where the usermistakenly takes his or her eye away from the eye proximity detectionunit 219, such as when moving his or her finger near the eye proximitydetection unit 219 or moving his or her finger between his or her faceand the touch panel 104 a in order to operate the touch panel 104 a. Inthis case, if the system control unit 201 immediately switches thedisplay destination, it will be necessary to make an operation in therear display panel 101 a. There is thus a risk that a user who wishes toshoot while viewing the EVF 101 b will be occupied with the operationand miss the chance for a shot. Furthermore, the repeateddetection/non-detection of eye proximity will result in the EVF 101 brepeatedly turning on and off, which reduces the usability. Although itis conceivable to make a display in the rear display panel 101 a at thesame time, without turning the EVF 101 b off, when the user mistakenlytakes his or her eye away from the eye proximity detection unit 219,doing so consumes an increased amount of power. Processing such as thatillustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B is carried out in order to solve thisproblem.

Depending on the shooting scene, a situation is also conceivable inwhich the user wishes to switch the display destination while touchingthe panel, and thus the display destination is switched to the reardisplay panel 101 a when the eye non-proximate state has continued for apredetermined amount of time (YES in S504). However, the display in theEVF 101 b may be continued without switching the display destination tothe rear display panel 101 a as long as the touch operation continues(as long as a touch-on is in effect), regardless of the amount of timefor which the eye proximity detection unit 219 has continuously detectedan eye non-proximate state.

Note that if a determination of “NO” is made in S501, the process maymove to S507 without the processes of S502 to S505 being carried out. Inother words, if eye non-proximity has been detected, the displaydestination may be switched from the EVF 101 b to the rear display panel101 a regardless of whether or not a touch-on has been detected.

Additionally, whether or not to carry out the processes of S502 to S505may be determined on the basis of whether a touch-on was made in theregion set as the touch response region or a touch-on was made in aregion aside from the region set as the touch response region. Forexample, if eye non-proximity has been detected when a touch-on wasdetected in a region aside from the touch response region (atouch-inactive region), the above-described processes of S502 to S505may be carried out for the touch made in the region aside from the touchresponse region. The touch detected in the touch-inactive region islikely to be contact made by the user's nose. This makes it possible toavoid switching the display destination in a situation where eyeproximity is no longer detected, and eye non-proximity has beendetected, due to the user changing how he or she is holding the camera,for example, while his or her nose remains in contact (that is, whilehis or her eye is actually proximate). On the other hand, if eyenon-proximity has been detected while a touch-on was detected in thetouch response region but was not detected in a region aside from thetouch response region, the process may move to S507, and the displaydestination may be switched, without carrying out the above-describedprocesses of S502 to S505. This is because the situation is likely to beone in which the user has intentionally taken his or her eye away whilecontinuing to touch the touch panel 104 a with his or her operatingfinger in order to determine the rear display panel 101 a.

Meanwhile, the rear display panel 101 a may be configured as a tiltmonitor or a vari-angle monitor, in which the panel can be pivoted to adesired position, attitude, and the like relative to the body of thedigital camera 100. In this case, it is assumed that the digital camera100 includes a monitor position detection unit that detects theposition, attitude, and the like of the vari-angle monitor relative tothe camera body. The above-described processes of S502 to S505 arecarried out when the vari-angle monitor is detected as having beenclosed while the display surface of the rear display panel 101 a isexposed on the rear surface side of the camera (i.e., is oriented in thesame state as that illustrated in FIG. 1). On the other hand, if thevari-angle monitor is open, the process may move to S507, and thedisplay destination may be switched, without carrying out theabove-described processes of S502 to S505. This is because when thevari-angle monitor is open, the finger used to operate the touch panel104 a will not be positioned near the user's face, eye, or the like, andthus the above-described issue will not arise.

Although an example of control for suppressing the switching of thedisplay destination based on whether or not a touch-on is in effect isgiven here, the operation is not limited to a touch operation, and theswitching of the display destination may be suppressed when anotheroperation member is operated. For example, it is possible to avoidswitching the display destination while a button to which theabove-described aperture narrowing function has been assigned is beingoperated. Additionally, the control for suppressing the switching of thedisplay destination (S502 to S505) may be carried out for operationmembers near the eyepiece part of the EVF 101 b, operation members whichare provided in the rear surface of the camera and which require afinger to be inserted between the rear surface of the camera and theface of the user who has his or her eye near the eyepiece part duringoperation, and so on. The controller wheel 106, for example, can bethought of as an operation member which requires a finger to be insertedbetween the digital camera 100 and the face of the user who has his orher eye near during operation. A zoom lever provided in the periphery ofthe shutter button 102, for example, can be thought of as a member thatis not such an operation member. In this case, if eye non-proximity hasbeen detected while the controller wheel 106 is been rotated, theprocesses of S504 and S505 are carried out without moving to S507, withthe process moving to S507 once the rotation of the controller wheel 106has ended or a predetermined amount of time has elapsed after a state ofeye non-proximity is in effect. On the other hand, if eye non-proximityhas been detected, the process moves to S507, without the processes ofS503 to S505 being carried out, even if the zoom lever is beingoperated. The zoom lever is an operation member provided in a surface ofthe digital camera 100 (e.g., an upper part, or around the lens barrelof the lens on the front surface of the camera) that is different fromthe surface including the eyepiece part of the EVF 101 b (the rearsurface). Accordingly, it is unlikely that the user will unintentionallytake his or her face away from the eyepiece part due to operating thezoom lever with his or her finger.

Additionally, the example described here is an example of controlcarried out in accordance with whether or not a touch-on has been made,in which the switching of the display destination is suppressed when atouch-on has been made. However, whether or not to carry out control forsuppressing the switching of the display destination may be switched inaccordance with the type of the touch operation. For example, if atouch-on state is simply being continued, it may be assumed that AFframe-related operations are not being carried out, and control forsuppressing the switching of the display destination is not carried out.If, however, a touch-move operation is being repeated within apredetermined amount of time, it may be assumed that AF frame-relatedoperations (operations for moving the AF frame in touch & drag AF) areunderway, and control for suppressing the switching of the displaydestination may be carried out.

Touch-Down Process

The touch-down process of S312 in FIG. 3B will be described in detailnext using FIGS. 6A to 6C.

In S601, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not thedisplay destination is the rear display panel 101 a. The process movesto S602 if the display destination is the rear display panel, and movesto S610 if such is not the case.

In S602, the system control unit 201 refers to the settings informationheld in the system memory 212, and determines whether or not the AF modeis the single-point AF mode. The process moves to S603 if the AF mode isthe single-point AF mode, and moves to S606 if such is not the case (ifthe AF mode is the tracking mode).

In S603, the system control unit 201 displays the single-point AF frameat coordinates, in the rear display panel 101 a, that correspond to atouch-down position on the touch panel 104 a.

In S604, the system control unit 201 updates the position wherecontinuous AF is carried out to the current position of the single-pointAF frame, and carries out continuous AF.

In S605, the system control unit 201 displays a guide for returning theposition of the single-point AF frame to the center in the rear displaypanel 101 a. The guide may be guidance using a character string, or maybe an icon. Meanwhile, the operation for returning the position of thesingle-point AF frame to the center may be an operation of a buttonincluded in the operation unit 104, or may be a touch operation made inthe touch panel 104 a.

In S606, the system control unit 201 tracks an object detected near thecoordinates, in the rear display panel 101 a, that correspond to thetouch-down position on the touch panel 104 a. This results in atransition to a currently-tracking state.

In S607, the system control unit 201 displays the tracking frame 1138,in a range indicating the object being tracked, in the LV imagedisplayed in the rear display panel 101 a.

In S608, the system control unit 201 updates the position wherecontinuous AF is carried out to the current tracking position, andcarries out continuous AF.

In S609, the system control unit 201 displays the tracking cancel guidein the rear display panel 101 a. The tracking cancel guide is the sameas that described with reference to S512.

In S610, the system control unit 201 refers to the settings informationheld in the system memory 212 and determines whether or not theabove-described touch & drag AF setting is “active”. The process movesto S611 if “active” is set, and ends if such is not the case.

In S611, the system control unit 201 refers to the settings informationheld in the system memory 212, and determines whether or not theabove-described AF position designation method is set to absoluteposition designation. The process moves to S612 if absolute positiondesignation is set, and moves to S620 if such is not the case.

In S612, the system control unit 201 refers to the settings informationheld in the system memory 212, and determines whether or not the AF modeis the single-point AF mode. The process moves to S613 if the AF mode issingle-point AF, and moves to S616 if such is not the case (if the AFmode is the tracking mode).

In S613, the system control unit 201 displays the single-point AF frameat a position, in the EVF 101 b, that corresponds to the touch-downposition on the touch panel 104 a.

In S614, the system control unit 201 updates the position wherecontinuous AF is carried out to the current position of the single-pointAF frame, and carries out continuous AF.

In S615, the system control unit 201 displays a guide for returning theposition of the single-point AF frame to the center in the EVF 101 b.

In S616, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not an objectis currently being tracked. The process moves to S618 if an object iscurrently being tracked, and moves to S617 if such is not the case.

In S617, the system control unit 201 cancels the object tracking andtransitions to a tracking-canceled state. The tracking frame 1138 ishidden as a result.

In S618, the system control unit 201 displays the designated positionindicator at coordinates, in the EVF 101 b, that correspond to thetouch-down position on the touch panel 104 a. In other words, if atouch-down is made while tracking is underway, the tracking is canceled,and the designated position indicator is instead displayed in order todesignate a new tracking target. FIG. 11E illustrates an example of thedisplay of the designated position indicator in the EVF 101 b. Adesignated position indicator 1139 is an indicator (cursor) that can bemoved in response to a touch-move operation by the user, and indicatesthe current designated position in the LV image by the touch & drag AFfunction. The designated position indicator 1139 is displayed when in aneye-proximate state and during the touch operation (during touch-on),and is not displayed when in the eye non-proximate state, when the EVF101 b is hidden, and the touch & drag AF is set to “inactive”.Additionally, the designated position indicator 1139 is displayed in theEVF 101 b but is not displayed in the rear display panel 101 a. Thedesignated position indicator 1139 is displayed in a position uniquelyassociated with the touch position in the touch panel 104 a if absoluteposition designation is set. Additionally, when relative positiondesignation is not set, the designated position indicator 1139 is movedto the current position, based on the direction and movement amount ofthe touch-move, regardless of where the touch position is in the touchpanel 104 a. Note that if a specific object is being detected, thedetection frame 1136 is displayed during the display of the designatedposition indicator 1139 as well.

In S619, the system control unit 201 updates the position wherecontinuous AF is carried out to a position based on the current objectdetection result, and carries out continuous AR The position where thiscontinuous AF is carried out is not a position based on the designatedposition indicator 1139, but is instead a position based on the objectautomatically determined by the digital camera 100 to be the primaryobject. In other words, the same AF control as that used in atracking-canceled state is carried out.

In S620, the system control unit 201 refers to the settings informationheld in the system memory 212, and determines whether or not the AF modeis the single-point AF mode. The process ends if the AF mode issingle-point AF, and moves to S621 if such is not the case (if the AFmode is the tracking mode).

In S621, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not an objectis currently being tracked. The process moves to S622 if an object iscurrently being tracked, and moves to S627 if such is not the case.

In S622, the system control unit 201 cancels the object tracking andtransitions to a tracking-canceled state. The tracking frame 1138 ishidden as a result. In other words, if a touch-down is made whiletracking is underway, the tracking is canceled; instead, a locked-ondetection frame is displayed in S624 (described later), or thedesignated position indicator is displayed in S625, in order todesignate a new tracking target.

In S623, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not thetracking position from the time when the tracking was canceled is near afacial (specific object) detection position (whether or not the trackingposition from the time when the tracking was canceled is within apredetermined range from the facial (specific object) detectionposition). In this determination, the position is determined to be nearif, when a face (a specific object) is detected, the range of thetracking (a tracking range) from when the tracking was canceled overlapswith at least part of the range of the detected face (the specificobject), for example. The position may be determined to be near if, whena face (a specific object) is detected, the center of the range of thetracking (the tracking range) from when the tracking was canceled iswithin the range of the detected face (the specific object).Furthermore, it may be determined whether or not the object that wasbeing tracked is a face, and a determination of “YES” may be made if theobject that was being tracked is a face. The process moves to S624 if itis determined that the tracking position from when the tracking wascanceled is near a facial (specific object) detection position, andmoves to S625 if such is not the case.

In S624, the system control unit 201 displays a locked-on detectionframe 1140 in a range expressing the detected face (specific object)determined in S623 to be near the tracking position when the trackingwas canceled.

In S625, the system control unit 201 displays the designated positionindicator 1139 at the coordinates, in the EVF 101 b, where the trackingframe had been displayed until immediately before the tracking wascanceled.

In S626, the system control unit 201 updates the position wherecontinuous AF is carried out to a position based on the current objectdetection result, regardless of the position of the designated positionindicator, and carries out continuous AF, in the same manner as in S619.

In S627, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not thedesignated position indicator 1139 is currently being displayed in theEVF 101 b. If, when relative position designation is set in the trackingmode, an object detected at the position of the designated positionindicator 1139 during the touch-up process described later was notlocked onto, the designated position indicator 1139 is displayed for apredetermined amount of time after the touch-up as well, withoutdetermining the tracking target. This makes it possible to use relativeposition designation to move the designated position indicator 1139 to adesired position through touch-move operations in which touches havebeen made over several times in sequence.

In S627, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not thedesignated position indicator 1139 is currently being displayed. Theprocess moves to S629 if the indicator is currently being displayed, andmoves to S628 if such is not the case.

In S628, the system control unit 201 displays the designated positionindicator 1139 in the center of the LV image displayed in the EVF 101 b.In other words, when, during relative position designation, a touch-downis made while the designated position indicator 1139 is not beingdisplayed, the designated position indicator 1139 is displayed in thedefault position (the center) regardless of the touch-down position.

Touch-Move Process

The touch-move process of S314 in FIG. 3B will be described in detailnext using FIGS. 7A and 7B.

In S701, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not thedisplay destination is the rear display panel 101 a. The process movesto S702 if the display destination is the rear display panel, and movesto S706 if such is not the case.

In S702, the system control unit 201 refers to the settings informationheld in the system memory 212, and determines whether or not the AF modeis the single-point AF mode. The process moves to S703 if the AF mode issingle-point AF, and ends if such is not the case (if the AF mode is thetracking mode). In other words, if the display destination is the reardisplay panel 101 a and the AF mode is the tracking mode, changes to thetracking target based on the touch-move, AF on the position based on thetouch-move, and so on are not carried out. From S606 to S608, thetracking target is determined on the basis of the touch-down position asdescribed earlier, and thus the tracking of the tracking target set onthe basis of the touch-down position is continued thereafter even if thetouch continues and a touch-move is made.

In S703, the system control unit 201 displays the single-point AF frameat coordinates, in the rear display panel 101 a, that correspond to theposition in the touch panel 104 a after the touch-move.

In S704, the system control unit 201 updates the position wherecontinuous AF is carried out to the current position of the single-pointAF frame, and carries out continuous AF.

In S705, the system control unit 201 displays a guide for returning theposition of the single-point AF frame to the center in the rear displaypanel 101 a. The guide for returning to the center is the same as thatdescribed with reference to S605.

In S706, the system control unit 201 refers to the settings informationheld in the system memory 212 and determines whether or not theabove-described touch & drag AF setting is “active”. The process movesto S707 if “active” is set, and ends if “inactive” is set.

In S707, the system control unit 201 refers to the settings informationheld in the system memory 212, and determines whether or not theabove-described AF position designation method is set to absoluteposition designation. The process moves to S708 if absolute positiondesignation is set, and moves to S715 if such is not the case (ifrelative position designation is set).

In S708, the system control unit 201 refers to the settings informationheld in the system memory 212, and determines whether or not the AF modeis the single-point AF mode. The process moves to S709 if the AF mode issingle-point AF, and moves to S712 if such is not the case.

In S709, the system control unit 201 displays the single-point AF frameat coordinates, in the EVF 101 b, that correspond to the position in thetouch panel 104 a after the touch-move.

In S710, the system control unit 201 updates the position wherecontinuous AF is carried out to the current position of the single-pointAF frame, and carries out continuous AF.

In S711, the system control unit 201 displays a guide for returning theposition of the single-point AF frame to the center in the EVF 101 b.The guide for returning to the center is the same as that described withreference to S605.

In S712, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not thecoordinates in the EVF 101 b corresponding to the touch positionfollowing the touch-move in the touch panel 104 a (the designatedposition in the LV image) are near the detected object. In other words,it is determined whether or not the designated position in the LV imageis within a predetermined range from the position of the detectedobject. The position is determined to be near if, when a face (aspecific object) has been detected, the coordinates in the EVF 101 bcorresponding to the touch position after the touch-move are within thedetection frame 1136 (a facial detection frame) that is being displayed.Meanwhile, the position is determined not to be near if, when a face (aspecific object) has been detected, the coordinates in the EVF 101 bcorresponding to the touch position after the touch-move are outside thedetection frame 1136 (the facial detection frame) that is beingdisplayed. The position is determined not to be near if a face (aspecific object) is not detected. The determination as to whether theposition is near is not limited thereto. For example, the position maybe determined to be near if, when a face (a specific object) has beendetected, the coordinates in the EVF 101 b corresponding to the touchposition after the touch-move are within a range a predeterminedmultiple (e.g., 1.5 times) the detection frame 1136 (the facialdetection frame) that is being displayed. Additionally, the position maybe determined to be near if, when a face (a specific object) has beendetected, a range indicated by the designated position indicator 1139moved by the touch-move is in a position that at least partiallyoverlaps with the range of the detection frame 1136 (the facialdetection frame) that is being displayed. The process moves to S713 ifthe position is near, and moves to S714 if such is not the case.

In S713, the system control unit 201 hides the detection frame 1136 andthe designated position indicator 1139 displayed in the EVF 101 b, anddisplays a locked-on detection frame 1140. FIG. 11F illustrates anexample of the display of the locked-on detection frame 1140. Thelocked-on detection frame 1140 is displayed superimposed over the LVimage, and when a touch-up is made in the state, the object surroundedby the locked-on detection frame 1140 is indicated as the target oftracking. The locked-on detection frame 1140 indicates the targetattracting in response to a touch-up, and is thus displayed having thesame shape as the tracking frame 1138, but is displayed with a differentcolor from the tracking frame 1138 so as to be distinguishable from thetracking frame 1138. The display format of the locked-on detection frame1140 is not limited to this example, and may be any format making itpossible to identify the tracking is not being carried out but isstarted in response to a touch-up. For example, another format may beused, such as displaying a trackable icon or a trackable guide while thedesignated position indicator 1139 remains displayed, changing only thecolor of the designated position indicator 1139, or the like.

In S714, the system control unit 201 displays the designated positionindicator 1139 at coordinates, in the EVF 101 b, that correspond to thetouch position, after the touch-move, on the touch panel 104 a.

In S715, the system control unit 201 refers to the settings informationheld in the system memory 212, and determines whether or not the AF modeis the single-point AF mode. The process moves to S716 if the AF mode issingle-point AF, and moves to S719 if such is not the case (if the AFmode is the tracking mode).

In S716, the system control unit 201 displays the single-point AF frameat coordinates, in the EVF 101 b, that correspond to a position based onthe movement direction and movement amount of the touch-move operationmade on the touch panel 104 a. Because relative position designation isset, this position is not a position uniquely corresponding to the touchposition.

In S717, the system control unit 201 updates the position wherecontinuous AF is carried out to the current position of the single-pointAF frame, and carries out continuous AF.

In S718, the system control unit 201 displays a guide for returning theposition of the single-point AF frame to the center in the EVF 101 b.The guide for returning to the center is the same as that described withreference to S605.

In S719, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not thecoordinates in the EVF 101 b corresponding to the position based on themovement direction and movement amount of the touch-move operation madeon the touch panel 104 a (the designated position in the LV image) arenear the detected object. Although this determination is similar to thedetermination made in the above-described S712, absolute positiondesignation is set, and thus the subject for comparison with thedetection frame 1136 (the facial detection frame) is a positiondesignated through the relative position designation rather than aposition uniquely corresponding to the touch position following thetouch-move. The process moves to S720 if the position is near, and movesto S721 if such is not the case.

In S720, the system control unit 201 hides the detection frame 1136 andthe designated position indicator 1139 displayed in the EVF 101 b, anddisplays the locked-on detection frame 1140, in the same manner as inS713.

In S721, the system control unit 201 displays the designated positionindicator 1139 at coordinates, in the EVF 101 b, that correspond to adesignated position based on the movement direction and movement amountof the touch-move operation on the touch panel 104 a (an indicatordisplay position change process). In this state, continuous AF iscarried out at a position based on the current object detection result,rather than at the position indicated by the designated positionindicator 1139. Note that in this state, the AF operations may bestopped (with AF not being carried out).

Touch-Up Process

The touch-up process of S316 in FIG. 3B will be described in detail nextusing FIGS. 8A and 8B.

In S801, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not thedisplay destination is the rear display panel 101 a. The process ends ifthe display destination is the rear display panel, and moves to S802 ifsuch is not the case.

In S802, the system control unit 201 refers to the settings informationheld in the system memory 212 and determines whether or not theabove-described touch & drag AF setting is “active”. The process movesto S803 if “active” is set, and ends if such is not the case.

In S803, the system control unit 201 refers to the settings informationheld in the system memory 212, and determines whether or not theabove-described AF position designation method is set to absoluteposition designation. The process moves to S804 if absolute positiondesignation is set, and moves to S809 if such is not the case.

In S804, the system control unit 201 refers to the settings informationheld in the system memory 212, and determines whether or not the AF modeis the single-point AF mode. The process ends if the AF mode is thesingle-point AF mode, and moves to S805 if such is not the case (if theAF mode is the tracking mode).

In S805, the system control unit 201 begins tracking an object detectedas being near the designated position on the basis of coordinates (thedesignated position), in the EVF 101 b, corresponding to the touch-upposition on the touch panel 104 a (that is, enters a state of tracking).

In S806, the system control unit 201 displays the tracking frame 1138,in a range indicating the object being tracked, in the LV imagedisplayed in the EVF 101 b.

In S807, the system control unit 201 updates the position wherecontinuous AF is carried out to the current tracking position, andcarries out continuous AF.

In S808, the system control unit 201 displays the tracking cancel guidein the rear display panel 101 a. The tracking cancel guide is the sameas that described with reference to S512.

In S809, the system control unit 201 refers to the settings informationheld in the system memory 212, and determines whether or not the AF modeis the single-point AF mode. The process ends if the AF mode is thesingle-point AF mode, and moves to S810 if such is not the case (if theAF mode is the tracking mode).

In S810, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not thelocked-on detection frame 1140 is being displayed in the EVF 101 b. Theprocess moves to S813 if the frame is being displayed, and moves to S811if such is not the case.

In S811, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not anoperation for suspending tracking determination standby has been made inthe operation unit 104. The operation for suspending trackingdetermination standby is, for example, an instruction to display anotherscreen (menu screen) made in response to a new touch-down, a menu buttonincluded in the operation unit 104 being pressed, or the like. Theprocess ends if the operation for suspending has been made, and moves toS812 if such is not the case. Note that if a new touch-down has beenmade, is again determined in S311 of FIG. 3B that a touch-down has beenmade, and it is determined, in S627 of FIG. 6C, that a touch-down hasbeen made while the designated position indicator 1139 is beingdisplayed.

In S812, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not apredetermined amount of time has elapsed after the detection of thetouch-up. The predetermined amount of time may be any amount of timesufficient for a new touch to be carried out in a continuous series oftouch operations through which the user continues to move the designatedposition indicator 1139, and is approximately one second, for example.The process moves to S813 if the predetermined amount of time haselapsed, and returns to S811 if such is not the case.

In S813, the system control unit 201 begins tracking an object detectednear the designated position indicator 1139 on the basis of the positionof the designated position indicator 1139 displayed in the EVF 101 b(enters a state of tracking).

The processing from S814 to S816 is the same as the processing from S806to S808, and thus descriptions thereof will be omitted.

As described above, if the AF mode is the tracking mode and the positiondesignation method is relative position designation, when the designatedposition indicator 1139 is moved to a desired position in the LV imageusing the touch & drag AF function, the object to be tracked isdetermined once a predetermined amount of time has elapsed following atouch-up.

This format is used in order to prevent a problem in which, for example,AF is started midway through moving the AF position from one object toanother object in the tracking mode, resulting in the background beingfocused on so that the object to be tracked becomes blurry and cannot bedetected.

Additionally, when the position designation method is relative positiondesignation, it is conceivable that the user will make multipletouch-move operations in order to move the designated position indicatorto a desired object, and thus starting the tracking of the objectimmediately after a touch-up results in poor operability. On the otherhand, if the user must additionally instruct the tracking to startimmediately after a touch-up, the operational burden increases, which isnot a desirable situation. The format described with reference to S721in FIG. 7B, S811 and S812 in FIG. 8B, and so on is used to address suchan issue.

Additionally, if the designated position indicator has already reachedthe detected object (if the locked-on detection frame is displayed), itis assumed that the user has successfully moved the designated positionindicator to the desired object, and thus the object to be tracked isdetermined immediately, without waiting for the predetermined amount oftime to elapse before the determination. As a result, even if the objectto be tracked as moving, it is easy to designate that object as a targetfor tracking.

Touch Cancel Process

The touch cancel process of S318 in FIG. 3B will be described in detailnext using FIGS. 9A and 9B.

In S901, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not thedisplay destination is the rear display panel 101 a. The process movesto S911 if the display destination is the rear display panel, and movesto S902 if such is not the case.

In S902, the system control unit 201 refers to the settings informationheld in the system memory 212 and determines whether or not theabove-described touch & drag AF setting is “active”. The process movesto S903 if “active” is set, and moves to S911 if such is not the case.

In S903, the system control unit 201 refers to the settings informationheld in the system memory 212, and determines whether or not the AF modeis the single-point AF mode. The process moves to S911 if the AF mode isthe single-point AF mode, and moves to S904 if such is not the case.

In S904, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not thedesignated position indicator 1139 is currently being displayed in theEVF 101 b. The process moves to S905 if the indicator is currently beingdisplayed, and moves to S911 if such is not the case.

In S905, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not the touchcancel operation was the first shutter switch 102 a turning on (SW1 on)in response to the shutter button 102 being pressed halfway. The processmoves to S906 if a SW1 is on, and moves to S907 if such is not the case.

In S906, the system control unit 201 hides the designated positionindicator 1139. In S907, the system control unit 201 begins tracking anobject detected near the designated position indicator 1139 on the basisof the position of the designated position indicator 1139 displayed inthe EVF 101 b (enters a state of tracking). This processing is the sameas S813 in FIG. 8B. In other words, if, when the touch cancel operationhas been made, a shooting preparation instruction was made as a resultof SW1 turning on, the tracking target is determined on the basis of theposition of the designated position indicator 1139 at that point intime, even if the panel is still being touched. The tracking is thenstarted, and the shooting preparation process is carried out at thetracking position. This makes it possible to quickly shoot an image,with the desired object in focus through AF, at the point in time whenthe designated position indicator 1139 has reached the position of thedesired object, even if a touch-up is not made. If a member aside fromthe first shutter switch 102 a has been operated while the panel isstill being touched, the touch operation is canceled while remaining ina tracking-canceled state, without the tracking target being determined.

The processing from S908 to S909 is the same as the processing from S806to S808 in FIG. 8A, and thus descriptions thereof will be omitted. InS911, the system control unit 201 carries out the touch-up processillustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B.

Note that the operation for suspending the tracking determinationstandby in S811, described with reference to FIG. 8B, and the operationfor starting the tracking even midway through a touch operation,corresponding to YES in S905, are not limited to the above-describedexamples. Another operation member included in the operation unit 104may be operated, or the tracking determination standby may be suspended,the tracking may be started, or the like in response to the displaydestination being switched between the rear display panel 101 a and theEVF 101 b in accordance with the user's eye proximity or non-proximity.

Frame Button Process

The frame button process carried out in S320 of FIG. 3C will bedescribed in detail next using FIG. 10.

In S1001, the system control unit 201 refers to the settings informationheld in the system memory 212, and determines whether or not the AF modeis the single-point AF mode. The process moves to S1002 if the AF modeis single-point AF, and moves to S1005 if such is not the case (if theAF mode is the tracking mode).

In S1002, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not theframe button included in the operation unit 104 has been held down(pressed continuously for greater than or equal to a predeterminedamount of time). The process moves to S1004 if the button has been helddown, and moves to S1003 if such is not the case.

In S1003, the system control unit 201 transitions to the frame movementmode, in which the position of the single-point AF frame can be changed.In this mode, the single-point AF frame can be moved by operating theup, down, left, and right buttons included in the operation unit 104,the controller wheel 106, or the like, in addition to the operationsmade to the touch panel 104 a described thus far. The LV image can alsobe enlarged at a desired position.

In S1004, the system control unit 201 returns the position of thesingle-point AF frame to the center. In S1005, the system control unit201 determines whether or not the display destination is the reardisplay panel 101 a. The process moves to S1006 if the displaydestination is the rear display panel, and moves to S1007 if such is notthe case.

In S1006, the system control unit 201 transitions to a face selectionmode. The facial selection mode is a function for tracking the object,among the currently-detected objects, that is most appropriate as aprimary face.

In S1007, the system control unit 201 refers to the settings informationheld in the system memory 212, and determines whether or not theabove-described AF position designation method is set to absoluteposition designation. The process moves to S1008 if absolute positiondesignation is set, and moves to S1006 if such is not the case.

In S1008, the system control unit 201 determines whether or not anobject is currently being tracked. The process moves to S1009 if anobject is currently being tracked, and moves to S1006 if such is not thecase.

In S1009, the system control unit 201 cancels the object tracking andtransitions to a tracking-canceled state. The tracking frame 1138 ishidden as a result.

In S1010, the system control unit 201 updates the position wherecontinuous AF is carried out to a position based on the current objectdetection result, and carries out continuous AF, in the same manner asS619 in FIG. 6B.

Although the descriptions given thus far have use the EVF 101 b as anexample, the present invention can also be applied in an image capturingapparatus including an optical viewfinder instead of the EVF 101 b. Inthis case, the following items are replaced and employed. The eyeproximity detection unit 219 detects eye proximity with respect to aneyepiece part of the optical viewfinder. In the eye-proximate state, therear display panel 101 a is turned off, and the driving of a liquidcrystal display element or the like, which is provided in the opticalviewfinder and is used to display information, is started. Note that thedisplay element in the optical viewfinder may carry out a display in theeye non-proximate state. The LV image need not be displayed in the reardisplay panel 101 a during the eye non-proximate state; instead,information aside from the LV image may be displayed, or the display maybe turned off. However, it is assumed that the touch panel 104 a isdriven if the touch & drag AF is set to “active”. In the eye-proximatestate, the LV image is not displayed in the optical viewfinder, and anoptical image can be seen instead. The tracking frame, the designatedposition indicator, and the locked-on detection frame, which have beendescribed as being displayed in the eye-proximate state, are displayedby a predetermined plurality of display elements in the opticalviewfinder, overlapping with the optical image. The detection frame mayor may not be displayed.

With respect to the format of the frame described thus far, the size maybe variable in accordance with the circumstances, and the frame need notbe constituted by a single frame. For example, if a plurality of AFpoints are displayed in a display unit in advance, as with an opticalviewfinder or the like, a touch position may be indicated by, forexample, changing the color of the plurality of AF points in accordancewith the position and surface area of the finger that made the touch.

Additionally, the length of the standby time until tracking isdetermined in S811 may be made variable by the user, or may be changedautomatically in accordance with the shooting scene. For example, when amoving object can be detected from the LV image, and the situation isone in which a moving object is detected, the tracking target may bedetermined immediately in response to a touch-up even if the locked-ondetection frame is not currently being displayed. Alternatively, in asituation where it is determined, from output from the attitudedetection unit 218 or analysis of time-base correlation of the LV image,that the digital camera 100 itself is moving, the tracking target may bedetermined immediately in response to a touch-up even if the locked-ondetection frame is not currently being displayed. This is because insuch situations, it is conceivable that the user wishes to track themoving object in the LV image. Additionally, if the shooting mode forshooting an object with a high amount of movement is set, the trackingtarget may be determined immediately in response to a touch-up even ifthe locked-on detection frame is not currently being displayed. Of theplurality of scene-specific shooting modes, the sports shooting mode(described above), a fireworks mode, a pet (animal) shooting mode, and achild (kids) shooting mode can be given as examples of shooting modesfor shooting an object with a high amount of movement. The portraitshooting mode, the flower shooting mode, a food shooting mode, anauction item shooting mode, and a landscape shooting mode can be givenas examples of shooting modes not for shooting an object with a highamount of movement (shooting modes for shooting an object with a lowamount of movement).

Conversely, if an undesired object is mistakenly tracked when shooting amoving image (when recording a moving image) and the undesired object isfocused on, the state in which the undesired object is focused on willalso be recorded, which is an undesirable situation. Thus to reliablyprevent an unintended object from being focused on while shooting amoving image (while recording a moving image), the tracking may bedetermined following a predetermined amount of time after a touch-up,even in the case where the designated position indicator has been movedto the object detection position. In this case, different amounts oftime may be provided in accordance with whether or not the position ofthe designated position indicator is the object detection position, andthe time weighted before determination may be reduced for situationswhere the position of the designated position indicator is the objectdetection position.

Although the expression “near” is used with respect to the trackingdetermination time, the time for locking onto the designated positionindicator detection frame, and so on, thresholds for how “near” an itemmust be for carrying out each process may be made variable by the user,or may be automatically changed in accordance with the shooting scene.For example, in scenes where a moving object is shot, and in shootingmodes for shooting a moving object, it may be assumed that the movingobject will be difficult to follow, and thus a determination of “near”may be made even if the designated position indicator is further fromthe object than normal.

Example of Screen Displayed by Touch & Drag AF Function

An example of operations carried out when, using the touch & drag AFfunction, the user makes a touch-move to switch from tracking theposition of a flower in the right side of the LV image to tracking aperson in the left side of the LV image will be described next usingFIGS. 13A-13C, 13D1 and 13D2, 13E1 and 13E2, and 13F1 and F2.

FIGS. 13A to 13C, 13D2, 13E2, and 13F2 illustrate examples of operationsaccording to the present embodiment. FIGS. 13D1, 13E1, and 13F1illustrate examples of operations in a case where the present embodimentis not applied, and are comparisons for illustrating the effects of thepresent embodiment. FIGS. 13A-13C, 13D1-13D2, 13E1-13E2, and 13F1-13F2assume the following:

touch & drag AF: “active”

position designation method: relative position designation

touch response region: entire surface

eye proximity/eye non-proximity: eye-proximate state

FIG. 13A illustrates an example in which tracking is underway while notouch is being made (touch-off). A flower, which is an object in part ofthe LV image, is being tracked, and the tracking frame 1138 is displayedin the EVF 101 b for the flower in the LV image. No finger is touchingthe touch panel 104 a.

FIG. 13B illustrates an example of a case where a touch-down has beenmade in the state illustrated in FIG. 13A. The tracking of the flower iscanceled, and the designated position indicator 1139 is displayedinstead. The face of a person is detected by the object detection, andthus the detection frame 1136 is displayed in the EVF 101 b for theperson's face in the LV image. A finger F is touching the touch panel104 a.

FIG. 13C illustrates an example of a case where a touch-move has beenmade in the state illustrated in FIG. 13B, so that the finger F moves tothe upper-left. The designated position indicator 1139 moves to theupper-left in accordance with the touch-move. In this example, thatposition coincides with a butterfly, which is an object that happened tobe moving at that time. The finger F has moved close to the left end ofthe touch panel 104 a, and thus it is difficult for the user to make atouch-move further to the left. However, the designated positionindicator 1139 has not yet reached the desired position corresponding tothe person, and thus the user makes a touch-up, makes another touch-downon the right side, and then attempts a touch-move to the left.

FIG. 13D1 illustrates an example of a case where a touch-up is made inthe state illustrated in FIG. 13C, and the tracking target is determinedwithout carrying out the tracking determination standby described in thepresent embodiment (S811, S812). The butterfly, which was at theposition of the designated position indicator 1139 at the point in timewhen the touch-up was made, is immediately determined for tracking; thetracking frame 1138 is displayed for the butterfly, which is not thedesired object of the user, and the tracking is started.

FIG. 13E1 illustrates an example of a case where the butterfly has movedfrom the state illustrated in FIG. 13D1 before the user has made thesecond touch-down. The butterfly is being tracked, and thus the trackingframe 1138 moves near the flower on the right side along with thebutterfly.

FIG. 13F1 illustrates an example of a case where the user makes anothertouch-down in the state illustrated in FIG. 13E1 and then makes atouch-move from the right side to the left side (the second touch-move).The designated position indicator 1139 moves from the position of thetracking frame 1138, which tracked the butterfly and moved to the rightagainst the wishes of the user (FIG. 13E1), and thus the designatedposition indicator 1139 cannot move to the desired positioncorresponding to the person even if the second touch-move is made.Accordingly, if the tracking determination standby described in thepresent embodiment (S811, S812) is not carried out, there are caseswhere an unintended object is tracked, which interferes with the user'soperations for designating the AF position (the tracking positiondesignation operations).

An example of a case where the tracking determination standby describedin the present embodiment (S811, S812) is carried out will be describedusing FIGS. 13D2, 13E2, and 13F2.

FIG. 13D2 illustrates an example of a state where a touch-up is made inthe state illustrated in FIG. 13C, and the tracking determinationstandby described in the present embodiment (S811, S812) is carried out.Because the locked-on detection frame was not being displayed at thepoint in time illustrated in FIG. 13C (immediately before the touch-up),a determination of “NO” is made in S810, and the tracking determinationprocess of S813 is not carried out immediately.

FIG. 13E2 illustrates an example of a case where the butterfly has movedfrom the state illustrated in FIG. 13D2 before the user has made thesecond touch-down, and thus the state of the objects is the same as inthe case illustrated in FIG. 13E1. If the operation for suspending thetracking determination standby is not carried out in S811, and thepredetermined amount of time has not elapsed following the touch-up inS812, the butterfly will not be tracked. Thus although the butterfly ismoving to the right, the designated position indicator 1139 does notmove following the point in time when the touch-up was made.

FIG. 13F2 illustrates an example of a case where the user makes anothertouch-down in the state illustrated in FIG. 13E2 and then makes atouch-move from the right side to the left side (the second touch-move).The movement of the designated position indicator 1139 is resumed fromthe position where the indicator was displayed at the point in time ofthe previous touch-up (FIG. 13D2), and therefore successfully moves tothe desired position, corresponding to the person, in response to thesecond touch-move. As a result, the designated position indicator 1139locks onto the detection frame 1136 of the desired person, and thelocked-on detection frame 1140 is displayed. If a touch-up is made atthis point in time, the tracking of the desired person will startwithout waiting for the predetermined amount of time, and the person cantherefore be tracked reliably even if the person moves. In this manner,the intended object can be designated for tracking more reliably, andwith better operability, by carrying out the tracking determinationstandby described in the present embodiment (S811, S812). Note that if,in the state illustrated in FIG. 13C, the object the user wishes totrack is the butterfly, pressing the shutter button 102 halfway at thispoint in time makes it possible to carry out the touch cancel process ofS907 illustrated in FIG. 9B and track the butterfly instead. In otherwords, according to the present embodiment, an object to be tracked canbe designated for tracking without standing by for trackingdetermination (without losing the object) even if the detection frame1136 is not displayed in the object is moving.

An example of operations carried out when, using the touch & drag AFfunction, the user attempts a touch-move to switch from tracking aperson in the right side of the LV image to tracking a person in theleft side of the LV image will be described next using FIGS. 14A and14B, 14C1 and 14C2, 14D1 and 14D2, 14E1 and 14E2, and 14F.

FIGS. 14A, 14B, 14C2, 14D2, and 14E2 illustrate examples of operationsaccording to the present embodiment. FIGS. 14C1, 14D1, 14E1, and 14Fillustrate examples of operations in a case where the present embodimentis not applied, and are comparisons for illustrating the effects of thepresent embodiment.

FIGS. 14A and 14B, 14C1 and 14C2, 14D1 and 14D2, 14E1 and 14E2, and 14Fassume the following:

touch & drag AF: “active”

position designation method: absolute position designation

touch response region: entire surface

eye proximity/eye non-proximity:eye-proximate state

FIG. 14A illustrates an example in which tracking is underway while notouch is being made (touch-off). Two people are present in the LV image,one on the right side and one on the left, and the person on the rightside is being tracked. The tracking frame 1138 is displayed for theperson on the right side of the LV image in the EVF 101 b. A mountain isalso visible far in the distance beyond the person on the right side andthe person on the left side. No finger is touching the touch panel 104a.

FIG. 14B illustrates an example of a case where a touch-down has beenmade in the state illustrated in FIG. 14A. The tracking for the personon the right side is canceled, and instead, the locked-on detectionframe 1140 is displayed for the face of the person on the right side,which has been detected at a position corresponding to the touchposition. The finger F is touching the right side of the touch panel 104a.

FIGS. 14C1, 14D1, 14E1, and 14F illustrate examples of operations whencontinuous AF is carried out at the position of the designated positionindicator 1139, unlike S626 and S627 illustrated in FIG. 6C.

FIG. 14C1 illustrates an example where a touch-move is underway, inwhich the finger F is being moved toward the person on the left sidefrom the state illustrated in FIG. 14B. The designated positionindicator 1139 moves to the left in accordance with the touch-move, andis positioned over the mountain. In this example, continuous AF is beingcarried out at the position of the designated position indicator 1139,which results in AF being carried out so that the mountain is in focusbut the two people in the foreground are blurry. Because the two peoplein the foreground are blurry, faces cannot be detected from the LVimage, and the detection frame 1136 is not displayed. At this time, itis possible that the people will be so blurry that even the user cannotrecognize them as people. In such a case, the user will lose sight ofthe person on the left side, who is the desired person, and will nolonger know which way to continue the touch-move, making it difficult todesignate the tracking target. Additionally, regardless of whether ornot the designated position indicator 1139 is positioned at the objectwhich the user wishes to focus on, the state of focus will fluctuaterapidly in accordance with the position of the designated positionindicator 1139, which makes the LV image difficult to view.

FIG. 14D1 illustrates an example of operations carried out immediatelyafter a touch-move is made further to the left from the state in FIG.14C1, and the designated position indicator 1139 has moved to theposition of the desired person, who is on the left side. Althoughcontinuous AF is carried out at the designated position indicator 1139,the person on the left side was blurry in FIG. 14C1, resulting in aslight pause until the person on the left side comes into focus; assuch, the face of the person on the left side is not being detected.Accordingly, the locked-on detection frame 1140 is not displayed despitethe designated position indicator 1139 having reached the position ofthe desired person who is on the left side. There is thus a risk thatthe user will mistakenly think that the desired person who is on theleft side cannot be designated for tracking.

FIG. 14E1 illustrates an example where a touch-up has been made from thestate illustrated in FIG. 14D1. Because the touch-up was made in a statewhere the locked-on detection frame 1140 was not displayed, the trackingdetermination standby (S811, S812) is carried out, and thus the personon the left side is not immediately determined as the tracking target.If the person on the left side has moved during the trackingdetermination standby, the person on the left side can no longer bedesignated for tracking, even if the position of the person on the leftside was successfully designated at the point in time when the touch-upwas made.

FIG. 14F illustrates an example in which the tracking determinationstandby (S811, S812) has elapsed following the state illustrated in FIG.14E1, and the tracking has started for the desired person on the leftside. Thus in FIGS. 14C1, 14D1, 14E1, and 14F, in which the presentembodiment is not applied, it is difficult to carry out operations formoving the tracking position to the desired object (the person on theleft side). There are also cases where the desired object (the person onthe left side) is not in focus when the designated position indicator1139 is moved to the desired object (the person on the left side). Inthis case, if a shot is to be taken immediately, the timing at which theshot is taken will be delayed by the amount of time required to bringthe shot into focus using the shooting preparation operations. In otherwords, there is a risk that the user will miss a shooting opportunity.

On the other hand, an example in which AF is not carried out on thebasis of the position of the designated position indicator 1139 whilethe designated position indicator 1139 is being displayed, as describedin the present embodiment, will be given using FIGS. 14C2, 14D2, and14E2.

FIG. 14C2 illustrates an example where a touch-move is underway, inwhich the finger F is being moved toward the person on the left sidefrom the state illustrated in FIG. 14B. The designated positionindicator 1139 moves to the left in accordance with the touch-move, andis positioned over the mountain. In the present embodiment, in thisstate, the continuous AF is not carried out at the position of thedesignated position indicator 1139 (S626, S629, S721). Accordingly, thetwo people in the foreground are in focus, their faces are detected, andthe detection frames 1136 are displayed at the positions of those faces.As such, the user may simply continue the touch-move toward thedetection frame 1136 of the person on the left side, which makes it easyto move the AF position to the desired object (that is, change thetracking target). Furthermore, regardless of the position of thedesignated position indicator 1139, the state of focus does notfluctuate significantly, and thus the LV image does not become difficultto view.

FIG. 14D2 illustrates an example of operations carried out immediatelyafter a touch-move is made further to the left from the state in FIG.14C2, and the designated position indicator 1139 has moved to theposition of the desired person, who is on the left side. Because thedesignated position indicator 1139 is near the detection frame 1136 onthe left side, the locked-on detection frame 1140 is displayed locked-onto the detection frame for the person on the left side.

FIG. 14E2 illustrates an example where a touch-up has been made from thestate illustrated in FIG. 14D2. Because a touch-up has been made in astate where the locked-on detection frame 1140 is displayed, the personon the left side is immediately determined as the tracking target, andtracking is started, without carrying out the tracking determinationstandby (S811, S812). Accordingly, the person on the left side can betracked reliably even in the case where the person left side has movedafter the touch-up. Additionally, because the desired object (the personon the left side) is in focus when the designated position indicator1139 is moved to the desired object (the person on the left side), ifthe shot is to be taken immediately, the shot is brought into focus andtaken immediately. In other words, the shot can be taken without missingthe shooting opportunity.

Note that the above-described various types of control performed by thesystem control unit 201 may be carried out by a single piece ofhardware, or the control of the apparatus as a whole may be carried outby dividing the processing up among multiple pieces of hardware.

Although the foregoing has described a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, the present invention is not intended to be limitedto the specific embodiment, and all variations that do not depart fromthe essential spirit of the invention are intended to be included in thescope of the present invention. Furthermore, the above-describedembodiment is merely one embodiment of the present invention, anddifferent embodiments can be combined as appropriate.

The foregoing embodiment describes an example of a case where thepresent invention is applied in a digital camera having a touch & dragAF function in which an AF frame is designated by making a touchoperation while viewing an EVE However, the present invention is notlimited to this example. The present invention can be applied in anyapparatus having a function in which a shot can be taken while moving anAF frame through a touch operation. Regarding the process for switchingthe display destination, described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B,the present invention can be applied in any display control apparatusthat controls the display of an eyepiece viewfinder, even if theapparatus does not have an image capturing function. In other words, thepresent invention can be applied in personal computers and PDAs, mobiletelephone terminals and portable image viewers, digital photo frames,music players, game devices, e-book readers, tablet terminals,smartphones, and the like. The present invention can also be applied inprojection apparatuses, as well as household apparatuses,vehicle-mounted apparatuses, medical devices, and so on includingdisplays. The present invention can also be applied in image capturecontrol apparatuses such as mobile phones, smartphones (which are a typeof mobile phone), tablet terminals, and so on that connects to an imagecapturing apparatus using hard-wired or wireless communication means andcontrol the image capturing apparatus through remote operations.

According to the present invention, the burden of operations whenselecting a tracking target through a touch operation can be reduced,and the convenience can be improved.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, AF can be moreappropriately controlled when selecting a tracking target through atouch operation, and the convenience can be improved.

Further still, according to the present invention, a touch operationbeing carried out while looking through a viewfinder can be continuedeven if a user mistakenly removes his or her eye from the viewfindermidway through the operation.

OTHER EMBODIMENTS

Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by acomputer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computerexecutable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on astorage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/orthat includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or moreof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by thecomputer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting the computer executable instructions from the storage mediumto perform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). Thecomputer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processingunit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network ofseparate computers or separate processors to read out and execute thecomputer executable instructions. The computer executable instructionsmay be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or thestorage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or moreof a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM),a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™),a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An image capture control apparatuscomprising: a touch detector configured to be capable of detecting atouch operation; and a memory and at least one processor and/or at leastone circuit to perform operations of the following units: a trackingunit configured to track a tracking target in a live view image capturedby an image capturing unit; an AF mode setting unit configured to becapable of setting one of a plurality of AF modes, each AF mode having adifferent method for determining an AF position; and a control unitconfigured to carry out control so that in the case where a first AFmode, which determines an AF position without tracking carried out bythe tracking unit, is set by the AF mode setting unit, AF is executed onthe basis of a position based on movement of a touch position while atouch is detected by the touch detector, and in the case where a secondAF mode, which can determine the AF position through tracking carriedout by the tracking unit, is set by the AF mode setting unit, AF basedon a position based on the movement of the touch position is notexecuted while a touch is detected by the touch detector.
 2. The imagecapture control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the casewhere the second AF mode is set, the control unit carries out control sothat when the touch detector detects that a touch has released and thetracking target is determined on the basis of movement of the touchposition, AF based on the position of the determined tracking target isexecuted.
 3. The image capture control apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the processor and/or the circuit performs operation of: anobject detection unit configured to detect a specific object from thelive view image, wherein the control unit carries out control so that,in the case where the second AF mode is set, AF is executed at theposition of the object detected by the object detection unit while atouch is detected by the touch detector, regardless of movement of thetouch position.
 4. The image capture control apparatus according toclaim 1, further comprising: an eyepiece viewfinder; a first displaythat can be viewed through the eyepiece viewfinder; and a seconddisplay, disposed outside the eyepiece viewfinder, including a displaysurface that serves as a touch operation detection surface of the touchdetector, wherein in the case where the first display is set as thedisplay destination and the first AF mode is set by the AF mode settingunit, the control unit carries out control so that while a touch isdetected by the touch detector, AF is executed on the basis of aposition based on the movement of the touch position; and in the casewhere the first display is set as the display destination and the secondAF mode is set by the AF mode setting unit, the control unit carries outcontrol so that while a touch is detected by the touch detector, AF isnot executed on the basis of a position based on the movement of thetouch position.
 5. The image capture control apparatus according toclaim 4, further comprising: an eye proximity detector configured todetect eye proximity with the eyepiece viewfinder, wherein the processorand/or the circuit performs operation of: a switching unit configured toswitch the display destination to the first display in the case whereeye proximity is detected by the eye proximity detector, and switchingthe display destination to the second display in the case where eyeproximity is not detected by the eye proximity detector.
 6. The imagecapture control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the control unitcarries out control so that in the case where the second display is thedisplay destination and the second AF mode is set by the AF mode settingunit, the tracking target is determined on the basis of a position wherethe touch detector has detected the start of a touch, AF based on theposition of the determined tracking target is executed, and AF based ona position based on the movement of the touch position is not executedwhile a touch is detected by the touch detector.
 7. The image capturecontrol apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the processor and/or thecircuit performs operation of: a display control unit configured tocarry out control so that a detection indicator indicating the positionof the object detected by the object detection unit is displayed in adisplay, wherein in the case where the second AF mode is set, thedisplay control unit carries out control so that the detection indicatoris displayed even while a touch is detected by the touch detector. 8.The image capture control apparatus according to claim 7, wherein in thecase where the second AF mode is set, the display control unitfurthermore carries out control so that while the touch detector detectsthe touch, a designated position indicator is displayed at a positionbased on the movement of the touch position in the display.
 9. The imagecapture control apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the displaycontrol unit carries out control so that in the case where the second AFmode is set, when a position based on the movement of the touch positionin the display is within a predetermined range from the object detectedby the object detection unit while a touch is detected by the touchdetector, a display format of the detection indicator changes from afirst display format to a second display format.
 10. The image capturecontrol apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the display control unitcarries out control so that in the case where the second AF mode is set,when the detection indicator is displayed in the second display formatwhile a touch is detected by the touch detector, the designated positionindicator displayed at the position based on the movement of the touchposition in the display is hidden.
 11. The image capture controlapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit carries outcontrol so that in the case where the first AF mode is set, AF isexecuted continuously on the basis of the position based on the movementof the touch position.
 12. The image capture control apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the processor and/or the circuit performs operationof: a tracking unit configured to track a tracking target in a live viewimage captured by an image capturing unit, wherein in the first AF mode,an AF position is determined without tracking carried out by thetracking unit, and in the second AF mode, the AF position is determinedthrough tracking carried out by the tracking unit.
 13. A method ofcontrolling an image capture control apparatus including a touchdetector capable of detecting a touch operation, the method comprising:tracking a tracking target in a live view image captured by an imagecapturing unit; setting one of a plurality of AF modes, each AF modehaving a different method for determining an AF position; and carryingout control so that in the case where a first AF mode, which determinesan AF position without tracking carried out in the tracking step, is setin the AF mode setting step, AF is executed on the basis of a positionbased on movement of a touch position while a touch is detected by thetouch detector, and in the case where a second AF mode, which candetermine the AF position through tracking carried out in the trackingstep, is set in the AF mode setting step, AF based on a position basedon the movement of the touch position is not executed while a touch isdetected by the touch detector.
 14. A non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium storing a program that causes a computer to function as atracking unit, an AF mode setting unit and a control unit of an imagecapture control apparatus having a touch detector configured to becapable of detecting a touch operation, wherein the tracking unit tracksa tracking target in a live view image captured by an image capturingunit; the AF mode setting unit is configured to be capable of settingone of a plurality of AF modes, each AF mode having a different methodfor determining an AF position; and the control unit is configured tocarry out control so that in the case where a first AF mode, whichdetermines an AF position without tracking carried out by the trackingunit, is set by the AF mode setting unit, AF is executed on the basis ofa position based on movement of a touch position while a touch isdetected by the touch detector, and in the case where a second AF mode,which can determine the AF position through tracking carried out by thetracking unit, is set by the AF mode setting unit, AF based on aposition based on the movement of the touch position is not executedwhile a touch is detected by the touch detector.
 15. An image capturecontrol apparatus comprising: a touch detector configured to be capableof detecting a touch operation; and a memory and at least one processorand/or at least one circuit to perform operations of the followingunits: an AF mode setting unit configured to be capable of setting oneof a plurality of AF modes including a first AF mode, in which AF isexecuted on the basis of a position based on movement of a touchposition while a touch is detected by the touch detector, and a secondAF mode, in which AF based on a position based on the movement of thetouch position is not executed while a touch is detected by the touchdetector; and a control unit configured to carry out AF control based onthe AF modes set by the AF mode setting unit.
 16. The image capturecontrol apparatus according to claim 15, wherein in the case where thesecond AF mode is set, the control unit carries out control so that whenthe touch detector detects that a touch has released and the trackingtarget is determined on the basis of movement of the touch position, AFbased on the position of the determined tracking target is executed. 17.The image capture control apparatus according to claim 15, wherein theprocessor and/or the circuit performs operation of: an object detectionunit configured to detect a specific object from the live view image,wherein the control unit carries out control so that, in the case wherethe second AF mode is set, AF is executed at the position of the objectdetected by the object detection unit while a touch is detected by thetouch detector, regardless of movement of the touch position.
 18. Theimage capture control apparatus according to claim 15, furthercomprising: an eyepiece viewfinder; a first display that can be viewedthrough the eyepiece viewfinder; and a second display, disposed outsidethe eyepiece viewfinder, including a display surface that serves as atouch operation detection surface of the touch detector, wherein in thecase where the first display is set as the display destination and thefirst AF mode is set by the AF mode setting unit, the control unitcarries out control so that while a touch is detected by the touchdetector, AF is executed on the basis of a position based on themovement of the touch position; and in the case where the first displayis set as the display destination and the second AF mode is set by theAF mode setting unit, the control unit carries out control so that whilea touch is detected by the touch detector, AF is not executed on thebasis of a position based on the movement of the touch position.
 19. Amethod of controlling an image capture control apparatus including atouch detector configured to be capable of detecting a touch operation,the method comprising: setting one of a plurality of AF modes includinga first AF mode, in which AF is executed on the basis of a positionbased on movement of a touch position while a touch is detected by thetouch detector, and a second AF mode, in which AF based on a positionbased on the movement of the touch position is not executed while atouch is detected by the touch detector; and carrying out AF controlbased on the AF modes set by the AF mode setting unit.
 20. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program thatcauses a computer to function as an AF mode setting unit and a controlunit of an image capture control apparatus having a touch detectorconfigured to be capable of detecting a touch operation, wherein the AFmode setting unit is configured to be capable of setting one of aplurality of AF modes including a first AF mode, in which AF is executedon the basis of a position based on movement of a touch position while atouch is detected by the touch detector, and a second AF mode, in whichAF based on a position based on the movement of the touch position isnot executed while a touch is detected by the touch detector; and thecontrol unit is configured to carry out AF control based on the AF modesset by the AF mode setting unit.